The Importance Of Word Order To The Writer’s Craft

She was writing a post. He was sitting at his keyboard, staring at a blank white computer screen. Abruptly:

She: “I’ve got a hole in my head where a word should be.”

He: “Umm … shouldn’t I be calling 911? Before that hole makes too much of a mess of the carpet?”

She (oblivious): “What do you call it when you’re out on a hike and you’re looking for something to tell you where you …”

He: “A cell phone?”

She (not hearing that one either): “A landmark. Never mind.”

He: “Well, I’m glad you got those words in the correct order.”

She (belatedly suspicious): “Hel-lo?”

He: “Hey. You could have said ‘A land mine. Never mark.’ If you had, and stuck that into whatever it is you’re writing over there, somebody sooner or later is going to have a lot more holes to deal with than the one in your head that you were just talking about.”

She: “Oh, holy … I oughta give you a piece of my mind!”

He: “You just did. Thank you.”

And he began to type …

  – O Ceallaigh
Copyright © 2009 Felloffatruck Publications. All wrongs deplored.
All opinions are mine as a private citizen.

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