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📚 Ready to publish? I banish typos so your story takes center stage.
Meaningful fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Pondering mercy & truth.
Eccl. 9:17

Okey dokey y'all, here's the second round of HH-ch

Okey dokey y'all, here's the second round of HH-characters-as-writers. Which character, or what combination of characters, are you?

Instagram post 18058587799562823

Instagram post 18058587799562823

I've been waiting for the perfect time to post thi

I've been waiting for the perfect time to post this, for OVER A YEAR.

I actually thought of this post somewhere around the end of 2022. The idea for a "Writers as Horatio Hornblower Characters" popped into and then flooded my brain one night so that I crouched on the floor in the dark of my room before bed, scribbling things out in a notebook by the light of the steam vaporizer on the trunk. Sentences and phrases for each character rushed at me with unusual inspiration—in fact, that might be the most idea-inspired I've ever been about anything. 😂 I rarely have rushes of inspiration.

So I had the formation for these in a notebook, scribbled with frantic delight before I went to bed so I wouldn't go to sleep and forget them all (they would've kept me awake, actually; till I wrote them down they lit up my brain and kept coming). I made graphics for them sometime in the next few months.

But I've never yet posted them, because it "wasn't the right time."

There probably isn't a "right time" (and I can assure you that circumstantially, this isn't it), so I'm just gonna post them now. 😂

Tell me which character(s) you'd be! Would LOVE to know.

Part 2 to come.

(Also, credit for the last slide, Bunting, goes to @the.sarcastic.elf . She came up with that one. You can tell she loves this guy a lot.)

P. S. If you haven't seen it before, consider this your sign to watch the A&E miniseries Horatio Hornblower. It has cool characters and relationships. (Usual disclaimers for historical dramas apply—some language, violence, and fast-forward-worthy bits. Fairly clean overall, as far as historical dramas go.)

I need to be more like the trees.

I need to be more like the trees.

I had no plans to post today, but this popped into

I had no plans to post today, but this popped into my head as good to share, and here I am to do so.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯," 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭,
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘮."

This past year has been for me both the hardest year and the year most full of growth to date, and that already sounds a typical thing to say and there's no way to sum it well because it was just too much. It IS just too much. But it was good, and it is good, because He is my portion, and that's why it works to have hope at all.

Mebbe the main thing I've learned this year is that the point of life is not to be as pain-and-struggle-free as possible, but to be in as close fellowship with and dependence on Christ as possible. Also that struggle can drive me to that end in ways circumstantial peachiness won't, and waiting on the Lord isn't a pause in life to get through as quickly as possible but is life itself.

Life in Christ should be despair-free though, and that's something I'm still learning. Most of 2023 has felt like the heavy, stuck despair of Lamentations 3:7:

𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵;
𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺.

And yet, Lamentations 3:21–24:

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥,
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋'𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥,
𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵;
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨;
𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯," 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭,
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘮."

I could continue through Lamentations 3 pulling out equally applicable verses of both despair and hope, but you get the idea. 😂

He is my portion and I can hope in Him. He is precious to me regardless of what life is doing, and He's giving me peace with that.

𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦.
(Psalm 55:18a)

He is the vital and sweet Bread and Water of life. What more could I ask?

I'm raising my proofreading rates for the beginnin

I'm raising my proofreading rates for the beginning of 2024! (How's that for a gentle intro, eh?)

This is a result of analyzing and reflecting on how much I'm putting into any given proofreading job and whether or not the rates reflect that. Fact is, they don't, and as with any job, the income has to be worth the output. Thus, I raise the price.

The good news is that it more accurately reflects the bang you're getting for your buck, even though the service itself isn't changing. These are things you can expect to receive in any proofread from me:

- Punctilious probing and perusal for errors or inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation, word usage, and grammar.
- Comments on the "why" behind a correction if it isn't obvious, and also on when something is a style preference or when it's standard practice.
- Tips and info to help you out going forward—not just to improve the current document but also your continuing writing.
- As much attention and thoroughness as it takes to get your text tip-top in the details of this close-to-final stage of publishing.
- Possibly more pontificating on technical details than you'd like. (You're welcome to say so and I'll adjust to your preference!)
- Approachability and humanness—I don't want to be a robot but a friend in your corner. I care about your writing, and I care about you more.

👉 You can swipe to reference my three most recent testimonials and consider for yourself if we might work well together.

✨ I'm taking any bookings by the end of 2023 at the original rate (even if the actual proofreading won't be happening by 2023's end), so if you're even somewhat near to publishing and don't have a proofreader lined up yet, DM me and we can talk about it! ✨

❎ Original regular rate was $0.01 per word, which is $10 per 1,000 words.

🟩 New rate is $0.012 per word, which is $12 per 1,000 words.

🔷 Original poetry rate was $0.008 per word, and new is $0.01. (SOMEONE SEND POETRY PLZ.)

A cool thing to remember is that if you're a first-time customer, you'll get 20% off the price of your first proofread!

DM for me to be the final set of eyes on your text before its release, banishing typos so your story can take center stage.

Every time I said something vaguely convincing in

Every time I said something vaguely convincing in the last several months about returning to regular posting soon, I meant it, and yet here we are. Months have passed and nary a regular posting schedule to be seen.

Something cool I realized is that, because there's SO much on Instagram and people always have everything else to catch up on, it might actually go fairly unnoticed if I haven't been posting. In fact, people probably won't notice it at all unless I mention it like I'm doing now, and then it stands out. But y'all might've remained oblivious if I hadn't made a post noting the lack of posting. 😂

So I'm shooting my own self in the foot here. Oops.

Instead of telling you again that I'm planning to return to regular posting soon, I'll tell you that I. am. struggling. More than half of me is bucking violently against saying that here, not because I have problems with saying it in general but because ONE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO DRAG PERSONAL STRUGGLES INTO ONE'S BUSINESS ACCOUNT.

And one's ALSO NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THEY EVER HAVE ANYTHING OUT OF CONTROL IN THEIR BUSINESS, OR THEIR PUBLIC IMAGE AND TRUSTWORTHINESS WILL SUFFER.

Too bad for public image, but trustworthiness I do care about, and I intensely dislike how public inconsistency with one's business *does* make the business—and the person behind it—appear less trustworthy.

But right now, that's where I'm at, and I got nothin' to fix it. Just here to be honest and say that life is zapping my energy and focus from being present and consistent with output on Instagram. I'm absolutely still open for proofreading work and would love to talk to you about your book. This isn't a business hiatus; it's just an "I-can't-do-consistent-Instagramming-and-life-at-the-same-time."

Mebbe I'll learn this valuable skill someday, but it is not this day.

So! All this to say—if you're publishing and need a proofreader any time in the near future, still do hit me up. (Someone send poetry, please. 🤩)

. . . continued in one comment . . .

Instagram post 17948192369535062

Instagram post 17948192369535062

This is one of my most favorite poems/songs. If yo

This is one of my most favorite poems/songs. If you want to hear it sung to a lovely tune by Thomas Tallis, look up "Thou Wast, O God, and Thou Wast Blest" sung by Rodolfus Choir.

𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘖 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵,
𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 w𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯,
𝘖𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥,
𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘯.
𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨,
𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘦;
𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨,
𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦.

𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘦
𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦;
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦
𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘬'𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷'𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥,
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭;
𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥,
𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘛𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮, 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘦,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦?
𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦,
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.
𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢,
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩,
𝘚𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘦,
𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩.

~𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯

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