“Abundant life can be found in the intertidal mud.” Intertidal – adj. : of, relating to, or being the area that is above low-tide mark but exposed to tidal flooding. ~ Per Merriam-Webster
Tag: writing is hard
Word of the Day: Deadpan
This is one of those often-used words that we think we know what it means. I think maybe Inigo Montoya disapproves when we use it too much. “The deadpan delivery did nothing to soften the blow of the bad news.” Deadpan – adjective 1) showing no feeling or emotion 2) marked by an impassive…
Word of the Day: Machinate
Dues ex machina! Only, you know, less godly… “The evil principal ultimately fell victim to the machinations of his clever senior students and their determination for a day off.” Machinate- verb intransitive verb : to plan or plot especially to do harm transitive verb : to scheme or contrive to bring about ~per Merriam-Webster
Word of the Day: Zaftig
Today’s word I’ve only heard about on the internet as a friend’s username. So I’m going to completely botch my effort at an intelligent use of the word in a complete sentence. I’m okay with this because this is a weird word but very fun. (It is such a fun word that auto-correct wants me…
Word of the Day: Cabal
This word is just plain fun to say. It even sounds mysterious, really. I think it is entirely underused. I know it is in my own work. “The den was forfeited to the cabal of teenagers for their D&D afternoon.” Cabal – noun 1: the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united…
Word of the Day: Verbose
It’s the word of the day. I had to use this one at some point! Just getting it out of the way… 🙂 “Not feeling particularly verbose, she replied with only a nod of her head.” Verbose – adjective 1): containing more words than necessary : wordy ; also : impaired by wordiness 2): given…
Writerly things… Like Writer’s Block
I learned this week that there are different levels to the dreaded Writer’s Block. Somehow or another, after a solid six months of writing non-stop, I finally hit my burn-out stage this weekend. No, really, when I say non-stop, I mean it. I’m either asleep, at work, or writing since last September. Sometimes I’m all…
Word of the Day: Dayspring
This word is ridiculously poetic and it caught my attention. I’m sure I must have heard it before, but I didn’t remember it. According to the Google graphic on the word, it was at its heyday around the year 1900, which sounds about right to me. “Who would have expected a chance meeting in an…
Word of the Day: Veridical
Yup, that’s right folks. Veridical. That isn’t a misspelling, despite how angrily my auto-correct is trying to fix it. Personally, I think it falls under the category of “Words Not to Use” because it will very easily throw a reader out of a sentence if they’re any good at spelling. The origins of the words…
Word of the Day: Cadence
Vocabulary is a writer’s best friend. Mine is sadly lacking. (My grammar is worse, but my vocab list is pretty short.) So! Here’s a word to think about today, maybe use it somewhere if it’s useful. “The cadence of her footsteps on the marble flooring heralded trouble on the way.” Cadence: noun 1) a : …
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