This Status Report post is after twelve full weeks of the project.

Status report

My status report was supposed to be weekly, and it was supposed to be written on Sunday or Monday.  My last status report was posted on Wednesday, June 25 – after week 7.  That was five weeks ago.

There are a few people who click on my status reports.  So I’ll try to keep them going – even if they’re late.  And even if they aren’t close to every week.

But I am continuing to write.  And I am continuing my Alzheimer’s disease research project.

So – since the project continues – on that basis – I’ll try to keep doing these status reports.

And as I said before, if not for me, then for who?

Status report – title numbering

I described the status report title numbering logic in “Status Report — Week 7“.

Since the numbering is a little odd, I’ll keep this reference to that explanation.

Progress

I posted four articles in the intervening five weeks.

On Tuesday, July 1, 2008 – week 9 – I posted an article titled “Alzheimer’s Disease and Sundowning” to my Dementia Path blog.  It is my second small research article.  This article, together with the Full Moon article, are among the most read pages on that blog.

On Sunday, July 6, 2008 – week 9 – I posted an article titled “Treasure Island — Total Insanity” to my Star Stuff Life blog.  This was a personal story about the joyous insanity of staying up half the night reading Treasure Island.

On Friday, July 11, 2008 – week 10 – I posted an article titled “Alzheimer’s: ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me’” to my Dementia Path blog.  It was a personal story about a difficult time helping my friend.

On Monday, July 14, 2008 – week 11 – I posted an article titled “Longwood Gardens’ Treehouses: The Lookout Loft” to my Star Stuff Life blog.  This is an article about one of Longwood Gardens’ new treehouses (in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania).

My research continues.  My main research project is about Alzheimer’s disease – related to my Dementia Path blog.  It’s a fairly broad project, trying to focus on: an overall understanding, epidemiology, prevention, slowing, treatments, and research.  I’ve been reading online – and making notes.  I’m moving forward to include talking to people who could help me.

I think I will abandon trying to match my posted articles to my stated write-and-post goals.  It doesn’t appear to serve any purpose at this point.

Obstacles

My obstacles, or difficulties . . .

Finding the time to write – and to do research – is my biggest problem.  As always.  I’m an Alzheimer’s caregiver, and it’s often difficult to make the time.

As I explained in previous status reports, this is always going to be an issue.  It isn’t one of those things that’s optional.  It’s not a box I can elect NOT to check.  I have to work with the problem, the best I can.

So …

I continue.

Wish me luck.

If you would like to share your thoughts with me, you could leave a comment below this article.  Or there is e-mail contact information on my “About” page.  I would love to hear from you.

This post is my sixth progress report – and it’s after seven full weeks of the project.

Status report – late again

My status report is supposed to be weekly, and it’s supposed to be written on Sunday or Monday.  My last status report was posted on Monday, June 9, 2008.  That was two weeks and two days ago.

It was Thursday of last week (week 6) before I realized I’d forgotten the status report.  And now, this is the middle of the week (week 7), and I’m just getting to it.

There are a few people who click on my status reports.  So I need to keep them going – even if they are late.

But beyond that, I need to keep them going for me.  And – HEY! – if not for me, then …

Status report – title numbering

Let me talk about the titling of my status reports.

From now on, the week number in the title of my status report will reflect the number of full weeks of the project that have preceded the report.  This report is being written in the middle of my eighth week – so there have been seven full weeks of the project so far.  And the title is “Status Report – Week 7″.

When I started out, I was writing a status report each week – and that’s still my target.  With weekly reports, incrementing the number by one made sense.

Since this is the second time my status report has been late, incrementing by one doesn’t convey useful information.  Indeed, the information conveyed is misleading.

I think showing the completed full-weeks of the project is more helpful.

And it’s consistent with the wording of the status report title.

Progress

I did post one article in each of these two elapsed weeks.

On Sunday, June 15, 2008, I posted an article titled “Alzheimer’s: The Path Beyond the Tears“.  This post is an update to my original post on my Dementia Path blog six months earlier (“Talk with the psychologist” posted Tuesday, December 4, 2007).

On Friday, June 20, 2008, I posted an article titled “Alzheimer’s: I Wish I Could Help More“. This article was also posted to my Dementia Path blog.

In my previous status report (“Write More” Project-Plan – Status Report – Week 5), I mentioned my initial research-writing project (Alzheimer’s Disease and the Full Moon).  That article has gotten a fair number of page views.

I’ve started three research-writing projects since then.  Two for my Dementia Path blog, and one for my Star Stuff Life blog.

I’ve made a little progress on the research projects, but not enough to brag about.

I’m going to consider that my two posted articles satisfy my write-and-post goal for these two weeks.  And the research progress satisfies my research goal for these two weeks.

Obstacles

My obstacles, or difficulties . . .

Finding the time to write – and to do research – is my biggest problem.  As always.

As I explained in previous status reports, it’s always going to be an issue.  It isn’t one of those things that’s optional.  It’s not a box I can elect NOT to check.  I have to work on the problem, the best I can.

So …

This week is half over already.

I have a meeting Thursday evening, but that’s all.

I’m going to try to get some researching done.  Maybe some writing done.

Wish me luck.

This post is my fifth progress report.

Progress

I wrote and posted one article this week. It was titled “Alzheimer’s Disease and the Full Moon“. It was posted to my Dementia Path blog. This article was also my first research project.

I first mentioned research in my Week 2 Status Report – in connection with “Shifting gears – Mid-stream”.

In my Week 4 Status Report, I mentioned my idea of examining and analyzing and trying to emulate – as much as I can – the tone and style of Scientific American magazine articles – and Scientific American Mind magazine articles.

Now, this “Alzheimer’s Disease and the Full Moon” article was my first research-writing project, so it’s good that it was a small project. That’s to say that the project, or the research question, didn’t turn up a lot of useful information.

But, considering everything, I think my article (post) worked rather well. I think it has a pleasant, readable tone. I think it makes pretty good use of my research findings. And I think that my initial effort to emulate the Scientific American style and tone turned out pretty well. I’m pleased.

I do understand that I’m hardly in a position to consider my opinion in this matter either objective or authoritative. But unless someone else proffers an opinion – and I do invite anyone to comment – that’s all I have – that’s the best I have. And that’s my role – my path – to do the best I can with what I have.

I’m going to consider that my “Alzheimer’s Disease and the Full Moon” article satisfies both my write-and-post goal and my research goal for this week.

So – results for the week: one article posted – and one research project article worked on.

Obstacles

My obstacles, or difficulties . . .

There were my usual chores for the week – as always.

Finding the time to write is still an issue for me – as I described last week. And it’s always going to be an issue. It isn’t one of those things that’s optional. It’s not a box I can elect NOT to check. I have to work on it, the best I can.

I’d also say that my procrastination pattern played at least a small role this past week.

So …

New week – new project.

I have a few meetings – Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening – and an all day class on Wednesday.

So – wish me luck.

This post is my fourth progress report.

Progress

This has not been my best week.

First of all, my status report is supposed to be written Sunday or Monday – and this is Wednesday.

I could list reasons – and some of them are real – and some are only excuses – so I’ll forbear altogether.

My stated goal for this week was to write (and post) at least 1 to 2 articles.

My goal also included working on one writing project that required research.

The one article I wrote this week was “Strange Feelings – Difficult Questions” – Update.

I did work on my small – my first – research project – some.

I also gave research and writing a bit of thought. I decided that I ought to try to emulate – as far as I’m able to – the tone and style of Scientific American magazine articles – and Scientific American Mind magazine articles. Now I’m hardly at that level of researching and writing – not even close. But I think that’s what I ought to be examining and analyzing and trying to emulate – as much as I can.

So – results for the week: one article posted – and a research project article worked on.

Obstacles

My obstacles, or difficulties . . .

There are my usual chores for the week.

My “who knows how long it will take” errand – from last week – got taken care of. It didn’t take as much time as I thought it might. Nor did it cost as much as I was afraid it might. So that’s out of the way.

My biggest problem seems to be finding – or making – the time to write.

Now, I’m not in the same situation as someone who is single, and is trying to find the time to write.

I have a partner who depends on me to take care of him – and of our home – and our meals – and anything else that needs to be taken care of.

This is not a person who can do a whole lot for himself – nor do much for me. And he needs fairly consistent guidance – to keep him from getting into situations where he doesn’t know what to do next – and then just digs himself deeper into frustration and ineffectiveness – and as a result, actively compounds whatever problem he already has. I only wish I had the resources to spend more time with him – and to help him stay as active, mentally and physically, as he has the will and the stamina to do – for as long as he can.

So I have to allow that this responsibility ensures that it will be rough for me to be as productive as someone who has only their own, personal needs and responsibilities to concern them.

I need to understand this – accept it – and allow for it. And still, do my darndest to keep it from being my downfall.

And still, there is more to it than that. There are areas I can work to improve.

I need to work on my sleep patterns – so I don’t make so many days for myself, which I do too often, where I’m totally blitzed because I got so little sleep the night before. And that is on top of a generally rough sleep pattern.

I’d also say that I do have a procrastination pattern that I can work on. That I must work on.

End of initial 4-week “Write More” Project-Plan

I would say that I have squeaked by and barely satisfied my original project requirements – as amended in my week 2 status report.

I wanted to write more – and to write more consistently. In that, relative to my previous months of writing, I have actually succeeded.

And with my quantitative goals, I have succeeded – if barely.

Going forward, I’ve decided to continue this project – for a second period of four weeks. My goals will remain as they were amended in my week 2 status report. My next status report will be week 5.

Wish me luck.

This post is my third progress report.

Progress

This has not been my best week.

My stated goal for this week was to write (and post) at least 1 to 2 articles. My goal also included working on one writing project that required research.

I did not post any articles this week.

However, I did start working on a small research project article.

The research part worked pretty well, considering it’s something I’ve never tried before. I had already developed TreePad tools, to organize my project and my research.

But, when I got to writing the article, there was something missing. Actually, that’s a pretty crude understatement. There was a whole lot missing. I didn’t have the same feel for the research article – the content or tone or flow – that I had when I wrote my other articles. The research article was dry and dull. And I’m afraid that rather threw me for a loop.

So – results for the week: zero articles posted – and a research project article started.

Also – last week’s status report has gotten only one page view. And maybe that one was accidental.

But if this isn’t for me, then who.

So – I will press forward with my plan. And with my reporting.

Obstacles

My obstacles, or difficulties . . .

I had a Toastmaster meeting Monday evening. I gave a speech that didn’t go as well as I’d hoped it would. Several people commented on how much improved I was. And I guess it’s true. But somehow, it doesn’t feel much like it.

And Tuesday was laundry day – as always.

I did my 6-page, “chatty” note to my Mother. I started Friday – and finished it Saturday.

My “who knows how long it will take” errand got pushed back. I hope it will get done this coming week.

Part of my week was involved with non-writing issues – see my “Strange Feelings” post. I made pretty good progress during the week. Then the Memorial Day weekend saw some less than optimal behavior on my part. So – “Strange Feelings” summary: good progress – with a setback.

There was one other difficulty: my mixed results out of my research project (I mentioned this above) rather disconcerted me. I’ve got to work this one out.

Shifting gears – Mid-stream

I’m going to stay with the revised goals I set last week.

And so …

This week starts out with the Memorial Day holiday.

But I will make the best progress I can.

Wish me luck.

This post is my second progress report.

Progress

My stated goal for this week was to write (and post) at least 3 to 4 articles.

I wrote “Strange Feelings – Difficult Questions“. I posted it on Tuesday to Star Stuff Life.

I wrote “Alzheimer’s Association – Northern Delaware – Support Group – Men only“. I posted it on Saturday to “Dementia: The Path Beyond the Tears”.

Since the week was sort of getting away from me, I cheated a little. I needed to write a speech to deliver at a Toastmaster meeting this coming Monday, so I counted that speech toward my goal for this week.

So – two articles and one speech written – and the articles were published.

Obstacles

This past week, my obstacles, or difficulties, didn’t come much from general procrastination.

Tuesday was laundry day – as always – and that carves a big hole in my day. I had two Alzheimer’s Association support group meetings this week – one Tuesday morning and one Wednesday evening.

My 5-page, “chatty” note to my Mother got skipped this weekend because she is on the North Carolina Outer Banks next week.

Next week I have fewer meetings. But I may have some other “who knows how long they will take” errands I need to take care of.

Shifting gears – Mid-stream

I am going to change a few things about my project.

For the second two weeks, I’m going to change my goal. I’m going to shift from a goal of writing (and posting) 3 or 4 articles per week – to a goal of writing (and posting) 1 or 2 articles per week. In addition to that, my goal includes working on one writing project that requires research. I hope to finish (research, write, and post) the project this week.

Also, I’m changing the reward for the first two weeks: from a trip to Rehoboth beach — to a trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Two reasons. I don’t want to take a whole day away from my writing to go all the way down to Rehoboth. And I’m hoping to write an article about Longwood Gardens’ new treehouse exhibits.

For the time being, I’ll leave the reward for weeks 3 & 4 as a trip to Rehoboth.

And so …

This week will be a challenge, like last week was. But I’ll give it my best shot.

Wish me luck.

This post is my first progress report.

Progress

My stated goal for this week was to write (and post) at least 3 to 4 articles.

I wrote what I called my “Resumption” post titled “New Beginning – Writing – Again“. I posted it on Monday to all three of my blogs: “Star Stuff Writer”, “Star Stuff Life”, and “Dementia: The Path Beyond the Tears”.

I wrote what I called my “Announcement” post titled “My Plan – My Goal: To Write More“. I posted it on Friday to “Star Stuff Writer”.

I wrote a post titled “A Cat Named Cleo” and posted it on Sunday to “Star Stuff Life”.

So – three articles written – and published.

Obstacles

This past week, my obstacles, or difficulties, didn’t come much from general procrastination. Tuesday was laundry day, and that always carves a big hole in the day. My “Announcement” post took a good several hours to craft. Then my 5-page, “chatty” note to my Mother this weekend took rather a long time. I was telling her about starting my new project.

Next week is going to be a challenging week. I need to take my friend to a doctor’s appointment on Monday, late afternoon.

Then I have an Alzheimer’s Association support group meeting Tuesday morning. And I have an Alz Assoc sponsored talk Tuesday evening. It’s given by my friend’s neurologist, and it’s titled “Medical Overview”. Also Tuesday is laundry day.

I have an Alz Assoc support group meeting Wednesday evening – with a different group than Tuesday morning.

I need to write at least 3 to 4 articles next week – and publish them. I need to write a speech for Toastmaster – to be given the following Monday. And there are a few other things I must write next week.

And so …

I’ll give it my best shot.

And if I succeed! As I said in my “Announcement” post – “If I succeed, then we proceed.”

Wish me luck.

The poplar tree partition behind our house is filling in beautifully. And I must fill in as well.

I said, in my “New Beginning” post on Monday, that I intend to make a plan, to declare my plan, and then work to carry it out.

My Change and My Model

I want to write.

Well, I do write. But I need to write more – and more consistently. I need to write blog posts, articles – whatever useful and helpful writing I can turn my hand to.

And I need to support myself – and my friend Charlie – by writing.

That’s my overall objective in a nutshell. The short term objective isn’t too bad. The longer term objective is a stretch.

That is the change I want to make.

I’m taking my model for approaching this change from Leo Babauta – known the blogosphere over for his Zen Habits blog. A persistent thread through all of Leo’s writing is personal change.

On April 10, 2008, Leo published a post to Zen Habits titled “13 Things to Avoid When Changing Habits.” He wrote:

I’ve not only learned a lot about what you should do when changing habits, but through my failures, I’ve learned about what not to do.

Among his 13 points, he suggested: take on one habit at a time, for one month at a time – commit to a plan on paper – and have some form of accountability.

I am going to take Leo’s “13 Things to Avoid …” post as my map – my model.

My Plan

My goal, over the next four weeks, is to write more. Objective: Weeks 1 & 2, write (and post to one of my three blogs) at least 3 or 4 articles per week. Weeks 3 & 4, the same, but for at least 4 or 5 articles per week.

My start date: Monday, May 5th – Cinco de Mayo. That’s when I posted my “New Beginning” post on all 3 of my blogs (it counts as one toward my goal).

My end date: Sunday, June 1st.

Leo mentions having a reward. While it’s likely that having succeeded in actually making the targeted personal change is more precious than any small prize, the prize presents something concrete to strive for – to focus on – when the stated goal is a bit more nebulous.

My reward is that my friend and I get to take a drive – a day-trip – to Rehoboth Beach. We love to drive down, have lunch at Nicola’s, touch the ocean, and browse a few of the shops – probably stopping at Willey Farms on the way back to Wilmington.

We win this reward if I succeed in my week 1 & 2 goal. And we win it a second time if I succeed in my week 3 & 4 goal.

We love visiting the Delaware beaches, and we haven’t for yonks. The reason is variously affording the time or the money. But this is our prize. If I succeed, then we proceed.

Leo suggests having some kind of accountability built into your plan.

I plan to report my progress at the end of each week. Sunday or Monday, I will post a progress report on this blog.

Obstacles

I need to realize what my obstacles are – and realization is clearer if I write them out.

It seems that my main obstacles are: routine chores about the house and errands out – I am the primary care giver for my friend – and procrastination of one sort or another.

Dustin Wax posted an article on Lifehack titled “Read This Now! Stop Procrastinating and Get Stuff Done – or Else!” I found most interesting his explanation of why procrastination feels good. He wrote:

When we procrastinate, we tend to do stuff that we know how to do – there’s no risk. And avoiding risk feels good – our brain loves it when we don’t do stuff that puts us out in the open, stuff that makes us vulnerable.

I found that to be an intriguing description of what I do – a lot. Planning and organizing is something I do quite well. It’s beguiling. And without some care, I could persist with planning and organizing endlessly.

I need to cross over that line to “doing”. I need to cross that threshold, and enter the special world, as Chris Vogler paraphrased Joseph Campbell.

That doesn’t mean that planning and organizing goes away. I need to always be looking for ways to make things better – with my writing – and with any other part of my life.

But the MTB effort (Make Things Better) needs to be a secondary, background process. My writing needs to be a primary, foreground process.

Support

Leo writes:

There will be times when you falter, almost invariably. Who will you turn to when you need encouragement?

This is an awkward point for me. I progressed through life as an introvert hermit. I have no close friends, except for my Charlie. He’s a serious part of my motivation. But he’s not able to remember or understand any longer, so he can’t give much support.

It’s difficult to figure where else to look for support. Life is challenge enough, and people generally don’t have the resources to support someone who isn’t directly and necessarily their responsibility. If someone needs support, it’s too often because they don’t deal well with life’s challenges – or should I say “with life’s opportunities”?

I need to learn to succeed on my own. I need to learn to thrive – regardless of difficulties.

I need to cultivate an infectious positive attitude and support myself.

I need to demonstrate that I can do it. Then I will have all the support I need.

Tools – Activities

I am taking two courses by Angela Booth – an Australian writer.

The course that is most germane to my current efforts is her “Write More” course. The subtitle to the course is “Develop a Fast, Fun, Productive Writing Process” – so it’s easy to see how the lessons could support my efforts.

Apart from that, I’m trying for an ongoing, gentle effort to maintain and improve my: style, grammar, awareness and use of SEO keywords, and online research skills.

Unanswered Question

What’s my next step? After this initial four weeks, where do I go from there?

I haven’t figured this out yet.

But I don’t want to delay my start until I do figure it out.

Publishing however many articles in a given period of time will be useful in getting me started. I’m not sure there’s a better approach to getting started.

Continuing my 3 to 5 articles per week goal for a while might be more helpful than pushing my count and crashing my project. And 3 to 5 per week is far ahead of anything I’ve done since I started.

But working on articles that need more research might be a complementary color to work into my canvas. It’s something to think about.

Where do I go from here? I’ll work on it. It’ll come to me.

And so …

Joseph Campbell, in the introduction to his book, Pathways to Bliss, wrote:

You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there’s a way or path, it is someone else’s path; each human being is a unique phenomenon.

The idea is to find your own pathway to bliss.

I need to find what works for me.

I need to make it work.

There’s a row of Poplar trees behind our house. In winter, the branches are bare, and I can see through the trees to the scrub beyond.

Today it’s spring, and the Poplars’ foliage is filling in – once again.

As leafy life returns to the trees outside my window, I am returning to my blogging.

Returning from where?

In December of 2007, I started three blogs: Star Stuff Writer, Star Stuff Life, and Dementia: The Path Beyond the Tears. My most recent post was to my Star Stuff Life blog on March 21, 2008. Today is Cinco de Mayo, so it’s now been 6 weeks since my last post.

What, you might ask, have I been doing?

Where my writing is concerned, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make a more effective process.

I’ve started two writing courses by Angela Booth – an Australian Writer. One of the courses I started is her “Write More” course – which is largely about process.

For the past few years, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. More than once, in that time, I read a book that enabled me to seriously improve some activity which was slow and difficult for me. It enabled me to take something that was intuitive and unsure – and make it a better, clearer, more effective process for me.

I may not follow the book’s suggestions exactly – and my process may evolve. But by any measure, I’m far ahead of where I started.

In a very similar way, lesson 1 of Angela Booth’s “Write More” class taught me an idea that she calls “writing organically” – which enabled me to seriously rethink my writing process. In my notes for the lesson, I wrote, “this concept alone could be worth the cost of the course.”

And of course, I’m looking forward to additional improvements, to my process and to my understanding, from Angela’s “Write More” class.

Where am I going?

My initial objective is to write more – which means writing more smoothly and more quickly – in other words, more effectively.

Beyond that, I need to earn a living from my writing.

All of this is easier said than done. Ask any writer. Or ask anyone who has tried to make significant changes to personal patterns.

Leo Babauta wrote a post to his Zen Habits blog titled “13 Things to Avoid When Changing Habits.” Among his 13 points, he suggested: take on one habit at a time – commit to a plan on paper – and have some form of accountability.

With Leo’s post as my guide, I intend to make a plan – and I intend to make a commitment. I intend to post my plan – and my commitment – on my Star Stuff Writer blog later this week.

And so …

I imagine that this ending doesn’t stand up strongly against a film serial cliffhanger.

But I hope to post the next episode within a day or two. But on one blog only – rather than on all three.

To be continued . . .    (My Plan – My Goal: To Write More)

One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.
Evelyn Waugh

I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it.
Carl Sandburg

Do you want to improve the quality of your writing? – whatever kind of writing you do. Are you looking for writing tools that can move as speedily and nimbly as your mind moves. Are you seeking to improve your grammar skills?

Writing Tools

A dictionary and a thesaurus are basic, essential tools for any writing. At the same time, using a book for these tools is time consuming, and I tend to pick up the book only when I have to.

When I’m writing, these days, I’ve found it helpful to have a tabbed web browser window open with my dictionary (dictionary.com) in the first tab and my thesaurus (thesaurus.com) in the second tab.

Any time I want to make sure I’m using a word correctly, I flip to my dictionary window and look the word up. A few mouse clicks and keystrokes, and I know what I need to know.

Any time I want to find a word – or want to find a better word – I flip to my thesaurus window and do some exploring. Any time I find that I’m using the same word repeatedly – in uncomfortably close proximity – I go to my thesaurus and explore for alternatives. A few tiny movements – merely a moment of time – and I find the words I need.

Sometimes I find a good alternative word – perhaps a better word altogether. Occasionally I find that I’m using the best word already.

I also have a larger book mark group that includes my dictionary and my thesaurus. It also includes a few style guides and quotation resources. I open this 6- or 8-tab group only when I’m using the additional tools.

Now – this arrangement violates a guideline that I’ve read over and over – to keep the Internet turned off when I’m writing, because it’s a dangerous distraction. This can certainly be true. You will have to decide for yourself whether the tools are more valuable than distracting – or the other way around.

Grammar Resource

I am not interested in becoming a grammar expert. At the same time, I find the grammar on some web pages, and on some blog pages, to be distracting and embarrassing. I would like to avoid writing embarrassing grammar. And I wish to gradually and persistently improve my grammar.

The most beautiful and powerful grammar resource I’ve found is Grammar by Diagram by Cindy L. Vito.

One reviewer wrote: “This book is perhaps the clearest and most useful guide to grammar, usage, and (especially) punctuation that I have come across. It is valuable as a reference even to graduate students who already write well.

I might add that the typography and layout of this book is also a work of art.”

Ms. Vito covers everything from a clear explanation of the parts of speech, to compound-complex sentences and usage errors. She also explains ten basic sentence patterns – three with the be verb, two with a linking verb, one with an intransitive verb, and four with a transitive verb. I found the idea powerful and valuable – and I’d never heard of basic sentence patterns before.

There is a chapter on punctuation and capitalization. Ms. Vito gives ten rules for comma use – starting with using a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.  I trip over many web writers ignoring this rule.

If you have an eye for sentence diagrams, this is an extraordinary resource for improving your grammar.

And so …

These tools and resources can be enormously valuable by helping you develop and maintain high quality, professional writing.