Journal: shaking in my boots

I finally sent the novel I’ve been working on to some writing friends for feedback. Huzzah! Now I’m shaking in my snazzy red boots. It’s amazing how my mind flipped after clicking ‘send’. Before hitting ’send’, I was pretty happy with the general shape of the draft. I’ve been dying for someone to read it … Continue reading Journal: shaking in my boots

Are you an ailurophile?

Here's a cool word AILUROPHILE Sounds like... I don't know what it sounds like. What it means though is A CAT LOVER Yep. It's from the ancient Greek ailouros (cat) and philos (dear, beloved). And I'm guessing quite a few readers of this blog qualify as ailurophiles. Am I right? Here's my claim to fame -- Chenna, otherwise known … Continue reading Are you an ailurophile?

Wordle on Worldbuilding

Today's blogging theme is WORDLE, the wonderful word cloud tool. After some contemplation, I decided to build a word cloud from all my blog posts with the tag worldbuilding. Cool, huh? I rather think this word cloud reflects the themes of my blog quite well. It's made from the following eleven posts (a total of … Continue reading Wordle on Worldbuilding

Word of the day: Cunctator

Cunctator noun: One who hesitates; a procrastinator or delayer When I saw this word hit my inbox (from A.Word.A.Day) last week, I knew I had to share it -- even if only as a reminder to myself that I must not embody its meaning. This evening, however, I fear I deserve it as a descriptor. … Continue reading Word of the day: Cunctator

Get over it: English is a living language

Recently, a press release from the Plain English Foundation crossed my desk at work and immediately snagged my attention. It was titled "Fugitive emissions" tops the list of 2011's worst words and highlighted such iniquities as Nicole Kidman's "gestational carrier" and the obfuscation "negative good" in relation to the effects of teeth whitening. Now, I would argue these are … Continue reading Get over it: English is a living language

An evocative word: darkle

Today I highlight a wonderful word that seems custom-made for the fantasy genre. Darkle verb tr., intr.: To make or become dark, indistinct, or gloomy; to be seen darkly. According to A.Word.A.Day, it's a back-formation from darkling (adv., a.: in the dark), from Middle English derkeling. Earliest documented use: 1819. As far as I can … Continue reading An evocative word: darkle