Just as in music, the rhythm and melody of the language shape meaning in prose, and a “wrong note” means I need to consider the nuances. Here are a few recent examples and my thought process around them.
Word Matters Articles
Boring
Boredom is a state of mind—and a fact of life. I dug up some tidbits about it, and it’s more interesting than you might think.
Welsh – Hidden in Plain English
We hear a lot about the way Vikings and Angles and Normans and Romans shaped English, but the less-discussed Celtic influence is fascinating.
World Building: Slang, Idioms & Adages
Slang, Idioms, adages and folk sayings are a terrific way to make sure characters are grounded in their setting and slip in some world-building that doesn’t require a lot of description.
Let Me Introduce Myself
The phrases we use to give our name provide a glimpse into personality and psychology.
Collecting Words
One way to expand your working vocabulary is to give new words time to become familiar before you use them.
Descriptive Powers: Similes, Metaphors, and Associations, Oh My!
Similes and metaphors are important tools for descriptive writing, and help writers add style to their prose.
There’s a Word for That
Studies show it’s easier to perceive something when you have a word for it. That’s why building a robust vocabulary matters.
Language Curmudgeon
Language evolves for lots of good reasons – but there are also good reasons why linguistic changes can make a person grumpy.
The Choice of Literacy
More and more, it’s possible to get everything done without bothering with that pesky business of reading and writing. It’s a loss.
Cold Weather Words
Weather words are among the oldest in English, because weather is one of humanity’s oldest conversation topics.
Punctuation Marks & Traffic Signs
I’ve been in the car a lot lately. In fact, almost all of my writing time has been spent driving. I always hope that those hours in the car could be good thinking time for fiction planning, but they just aren’t. Deep thinking and hurtling along a road at seventy miles...