words | words

Jul.31.2010 “They’re decked in armour and loaded for bear.” In my Kafka novel I wrote pages describing one of his dreams. In my history novel about Onions I spent a chapter describing the planting of a row of Fall onions. In my current thriller I wrote this line to describe the squad of commandos ready to do their chores : “They’re decked in armour and...	Jul.29.2010 Honorable Intentions I believe that words matter. Not just because they create language, but more importantly because words help us to define, differentiate, and give meaning to whom we are and what we do. Words also help us to describe the nuances of life and to capture the emotions that when left undocumented are...
Jul.28.2010 My Earliest Memory Marjorie had just had her third birthday and was feeling very grown up. Across the living room, Rusty, their long haired mutt lay beneath the black and white stove, his body propped against the legs that looked like claws. Bread was in the oven and the smell drifted throughout the house, crawling...	Jul.28.2010 Only an ultracrepidarian mumpsimus would mind my announcing that my new book is out! Bryan Garner, author of "Garner's Modern American Usage" tweeted this morning about two really fun words I thought I'd pass along: "Two of my favorite words: 'ultracrepidarian' and 'mumpsimus.' They're closely related. "ultracrepidarian = one who pretends to greater...
Jul.24.2010 Speak!! July 24 Speak! Are there songs a bird must not sing while communing with the flock? Do fish learn to restrain their expressions while schooling? Or are we the only animal versed in the language of taboo? I wonder when I hear the cows lowing in the night are they...	Jul.23.2010 Caveman Dilemma A caveman just wants sex, has no language and sees a cavewoman coming up from the river. What does he do? Once, way far back in time when humans were something new to the scene and language didn't exist yet, there were no words. What was there? Consonant noises, hissing, howling, blowing...
Jul.14.2010 YOUR OWN REVOLUTION: POETRY, PUBLISHING & THE INTERNET WHAT WOULD WOOLF AND WHITMAN DO?(A PRACTICAL PRIMER) “This is the beauty of the new media. There is no way to control it.” –Srdja Popovic What would Woolf, Whitman, Stein, Eliot, Pound, and countless other self-published writers do in the face of the monolithic publishing industry...	Jul.14.2010 YOUR OWN REVOLUTION: POETRY, PUBLISHING & THE INTERNET WHAT WOULD WOOLF AND WHITMAN DO?(A PRACTICAL PRIMER) “This is the beauty of the new media. There is no way to control it.” –Srdja Popovic What would Woolf, Whitman, Stein, Eliot, Pound, and countless other self-published writers do in the face of the monolithic publishing industry...
Jul.07.2010 List of Loaths Almost every book I read now contains the phrase “nowhere to be found” as in, “Jack stepped through the broken door and called Janet’s name. When she didn’t answer, he searched the house. She was nowhere to be found.” Besides being trite and passive, the phrase is patently ridiculous. All we know...	Jul.05.2010 MARCHING ALONG TO THE SAME BEAT I know the ending to my thriller, right down to exact scenes. And it is encouraged that, with thrillers and mysteries one write from the end first. That is too much of a leap for me in my novel writing, but I do attempt to go half way. However, at the half way point the story just goes on and on....

words | words

More in words