In this issue:

• How to write New Year’s resolutions that truly work
• Tips on using ‘fewer’ or ‘less’
• Did you know?
• Ask TSW!
• Spotlight on…Michele Ketcham
• Happy Holidays!

Let us take care of your words.

HOW TO WRITE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS THAT TRULY WORK

December and January aren’t just for holidays; they're also great months for you to reflect on the past year and prepare for the coming year. It also may be a good time to take more control over your life, or to establish a new direction for your life. One way to accomplish this is to create New Year's resolutions that truly work.

The most ideal way to succeed is to list your wishes or goals on paper. Next, separate your wishes into four categories: health, relationships, prosperity, and lifestyle.

Health: weight management, nutrition, exercise
Relationships: family, friends, members/representatives of organizations/clubs
Prosperity: finances, business and/or job, possessions
Lifestyle: recreation and fun, travel, Deaf culture, self-growth and spirituality, Deaf organizations/clubs

You don’t have to think of something for every category; if you want to focus on only one category, that’s perfectly fine. When writing a resolution, be specific and include numbers. For example, saying “I would like to visit the local Deaf club more often” is too general. Change it to, “I would like to visit the local Deaf club four times each month.”

Also start your sentence with “I will” and include a date. For instance: “I will run for vice president for my local/state Deaf organization at the meeting this May,” or “I will take ASL classes twice a week, starting in January.”

Happy New Year!

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Write-a-New-Years-Resolution-That-Truly-Works&id=397880

TIPS ON USING ‘FEWER’ OR ‘LESS’

It's challenging to know when the right time to use "fewer" is or when the word should be "less." The general rules are to use fewer with objects that can be counted one-by-one, and use less with qualities or quantities that cannot be individually counted.

Incorrect: There were less days below freezing last winter.
Correct: There were fewer days below freezing last winter.
(Days can be counted.)

Correct: I drank less water than she did.
(Water cannot be counted individually here.)

When referring to time or money, less is normally used even with numbers. Specific units of time or money use fewer only in cases where individual items are referred to.

I have less than an hour to do this work.
I have less time to this work.
I have less money than I need.
I have less than twenty dollars.
He worked fewer hours than I did.

The only occasion when you might say, "I have fewer than twenty dollars," would be when you discuss specific dollar bills or coins, such as "I have fewer than twenty silver dollars in my collection."

Source: http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000214.htm

DID YOU KNOW?

Author Robert May considered the names of Reginald and Rollo before he settled on "Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer."

Source: http://www.amusingfacts.com/facts/Arts_and_Literature/

ASK TSW!

I notice a lot of people confuse the words “boring” and “bored.” They will say, “I am so boring,” when I think they mean “bored.” What's the difference? 

                                                                    - A fan in Bladensburg, MD

This is something that many who learn English as a second language get confused with, and it can be tricky to explain at times. A helpful list is at http://www.learnenglish.de/mistakes/CommonMistakes.htm#bore:

Bored can describe when someone feels tired and unhappy because something is not interesting or because they have nothing to do.

Example: She was so bored that she fell asleep.

Boring can mean something is not interesting or exciting.

Example: The lesson was so boring that she fell asleep.

INCORRECT: I’m so boring!
(You are calling yourself uninteresting.)
CORRECT: I’m so bored!
(You feel restless or are uninterested.)

INCORRECT: The book was bored.
(Books do not have feelings.)
CORRECT: The book was boring.
(The book was dull.)

Have a question about American Sign Language or English that you're too embarrassed to ask? Send your question to us at news@tswriting.com. We'll try to answer your question in an upcoming issue. All questions will be kept anonymous.

SPOTLIGHT ON...MICHELE KETCHAM
Each month, TSW profiles one of its clients. However, this issue, we’ll do something slightly different. Company owner Trudy Suggs talks with Michele Ketcham, who edits this e-newsletter.

Michele Ketcham of Indianapolis is a mother, a writer and an advocate all in one - and that’s what makes her such an integral part of the TSW writing team.

Born Deaf to hearing parents, Ketcham's hearing loss wasn't caught until she was two years old. Two years later, she learned American Sign Language (ASL) and English when she enrolled at a day deaf school in Maryland. A graduate of the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) and State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, Ketcham is grateful she is fluent in both languages now. “I consider myself bilingual in every sense of the word,” she says.

It was during her years at MSSD that Michele discovered her love of writing. "I was asked by one of my dorm staff to take over the dorm column for the MSSD parent-student newsletter," she remembers. That simple started her writing career, which includes proofreading Gallaudet University's campus newspaper, editing the Albany Deaf club newsletter, working as an editorial assistant for Science Magazine until 1996 and writing a monthly column for Deaf Life Magazine from 1995 to 1998. She also edits the TSW e-newsletter.

"I began working at the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) in 1996 to run the youth programs, but then my job expanded to writing press releases, website content and organization materials,” she adds. One of her most cited work on the NAD website is the question, "What is wrong with the use of these terms: deaf-mute, deaf and dumb, or hearing-impaired?" Her balanced yet solid answers to such questions serve valuable purposes for deaf and hearing people alike.

"It is famously said that to write, you should write what you know. That has been true for me, and has turned out to be one of my strengths," she says. Ketcham has also worked on books such as Steven Barish’s Reasonable Doubt, Matthew S. Moore's and Robert Panara's Great Deaf Americans (second edition), and Ken Glickman’s Deaf Proverbs. "Another strength I have as a writer is the fact that I bring a strong understanding of ASL and Deaf culture to my writings. I try very hard to pay attention to connotation, choice of words and tone when writing."

A stay-at-home mother to a deaf son with a second son due in January, Ketcham certainly has her hands full. Her upbeat, friendly approach is what makes her such a great asset to TSW's ability to uniquely cater to clients' needs.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The staff at TSW wish you the happiest of holidays and a great start to 2008!

ABOUT TSW

T.S. Writing Services, LLC, is a Deaf-owned company that provides writing, editing, design, and translation services for American Sign Language and English users. For more information, visit www.tswriting.com.