|
|
|
|
Solving your writing problems since 1998! |
|
| |||||||||||
|
The Write Way 7 July 2006 Fly So High ... Greetings, While washing up our breakfast dishes this morning, I was listening to the radio and jigging around the kitchen to all the Golden Oldies they play on the station we prefer, when Bright Side of the Road finished, and the news came on. Now if there's one thing that can bring your mood down faster than listening to the news these days, I'd like to know what it is. There I was, flying high after our early morning walk along the water, a quick three-minute shower and a nourishing brekky of fresh fruit salad, natural yoghurt and home-made bread, and the next minute, I was clutching the side of the sink to support me ... Talk about gloom and doom! Whales being slaughtered for "scientific study" (if you want to do something about this, there's a game called 'Whales' Revenge' you can play online here: Ummm ... obviously the creator was so upset about what is happening to the whales that he misplaced his apostrophe ... but we'll forgive him this time). Then there are car smashes, drought, plague and pestilence ... What next? Well may you ask, dear reader, for the very next item was about a fire in a disused school building, and the newsreader breathlessly reported that police were searching for a group of children who'd been seen around the building (and I quote) "playing with petrol bombs." Pardon me? Is there something I've missed in the years since my own children played with teddy bears, Lego blocks and Barbie dolls? Am I to believe that petrol bombs are now the toy of choice for our kiddies? And if you saw a bunch of kids loitering around a disused school building during school holidays playing ("playing" for crying out loud!) with petrol bombs ("petrol bombs!"), then would you smile, pat them on the head and tell them to have a nice explosion? Or would you possibly employ the direct approach of my pool friend? Even if you didn't want to get directly involved yourself (and that seems to be a sign of the times) then you would at least make a quick call to your local constabulary, wouldn't you? Get the boys and girls in blue around for a bit of a look? Send the little blighters packing before they actually threw (or lit or detonated) their petrol bombs? I apologise for my ignorance in terminology ... What exactly do you do with petrol bombs? I'm not especially familiar with the practice, and isn't it a sad commentary on our modern world that some children are? This little incident set me pondering some of the less appealing aspects of modern life, and while you know that I'm not one to dwell on the negative, I remained under the spell of the Bad News Fairy for long enough to be reminded that ... ... There's a widespread belief that commercially-raised chickens are being fed with growth hormones that then accumulate in us human carnivores. The result, it's postulated, is that we're growing a nation of men who are exceptionally tall and women who have exceptionally large breasts ... Hmmm ... I don't know about that, but having spent some less-than-satisfying moments trying on clothes recently, I can advise you that many clothing manufacturers appear to be operating under the belief that women are exceptionally tall and that we all have exceptionally long arms. Have you noticed this? Every pair of trousers I tried on during my doomed expedition had enough extra material in the legs to have fashioned a small tent for those unexpected guests who lob on your doorstep at times. Woolly jumpers had me searching fruitlessly for my arms ... An orangutan would have had to fold the sleeves up on most of them. All I can say is thank goodness that dreadful fashion of low-slung hipsters has passed. The sight of all those bare bottoms bulging out of britches every time you left the safety of your home was just too much, wasn't it? Not so bad on some of the Slim Young Things, but definitely a fashion disaster on the majority of wearers! I think we should all take exception at some of the exceptionable fashions imposed on us ... especially when the number of people who can comfortably wear them is exceptionally small. Not a bad little word family there, eh? Exception is a noun that means 'an instance that does not conform to a rule or generalisation; a deliberate act of omission; grounds for adverse criticism.' But used as I've used it above, it means, 'to disagree with, object to,' and dictionary.com explains that "this idiom, first recorded in 1542, uses exception in the sense of 'objection,' a meaning obsolete except in a few phrases." Exceptionable is an adjective and it means 'open or liable to objection or debate; objectionable or debatable; used of something one might take exception to.' Exceptional is also an adjective, but it means 'far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree; surpassing what is common or usual or expected; deviating widely from a norm of physical or mental ability.' So when you're stuck for a response, you can trot out the exception family, and you'll find something that will fill the bill every time. Want to say something nice? Then it's exceptional. Want to express your disapproval? Then it's exceptionable! And here's a little groaner from Joanna that you may take exception to ... or not: A tourist in Vienna is going
through a graveyard and all of a sudden This week's quiz: Some words to use when you're feeling grumpy: ithyphallic, pococurante, renitent, inveterate, sciolist, heteroclite, eristic, apostate, reprobate, scrofulous 1. indifferent, apathetic, nonchalant 2. morally corrupt 3. disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend 4. firmly established; habitual; obstinate, malignant; virulent; spiteful 5. persistently opposed; recalcitrant 6. lustful; lewd; salacious; indecent; obscene 7. an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge 8. a person without moral scruples; a wicked person 9. a person who disputes; who is good at or enjoys controversy 10.any thing or person deviating from the common rule, or from common forms; unconventional A story with a moral ... but I'll let you work it out: A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she whacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his Walkman. Last week's quiz: Some interesting words this week ... just for the fun of it: pythoness, lambent, verecund, equitant, anagnorisis, testudinate, bricolage, funicular, eclogue, caprine 1. pastoral poem, usually in the form of a dialogue between shepherds - ECLOGUE (We get this word from the Greek eklegein 'to select,' which also is the origin of eclectic. No, don't ask about the shepherds. We know from previous experience about the Greeks and their caprine companions! Who's to say how they feel about sheep!) 2. of, relating to, or resembling a rope or cord; operated or moved by a cable; cable railway on a steep incline, especially such a railway with simultaneously ascending and descending cars counterbalancing one another - FUNICULAR (Those of us old enough to remember will no doubt be happily singing "Echoes sound afar, funiculee, funicular!" This word comes from the Latin funiculus 'thin rope' ) 3. woman with the power of divination - PYTHONESS (See? Not a lady snake at all. This word comes from priestess of Apollo at Delphi and was so called because it was the name of the mythical serpent killed by Apollo near Delphi.) 4. relating to, or characteristic of a goat - CAPRINE (From the Latin caprinus 'a goat') 5. slow-moving, like a turtle - TESTUDINATE (We pinched this form the Latin testudo 'turtle') 6. flickering lightly over or on a surface; effortlessly light or brilliant - LAMBENT (From the Latin lambere 'to lick') 7. straddling or overlapping at the base to form a flat, fanlike arrangement in two ranks, as the leaves of some irises - EQUITANT (Now, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is straight from the Latin equus, meaning equal ... So I forgive you. But you'd be wrong! It actually comes from the Latin word equitare meaning 'to ride a horse' and is related to the way the leaves straddle each other ... Yes, just like riding a horse!) 8. something made or put together using whatever materials happen to be available - BRICOLAGE (This extremely useful word comes from the French bricole 'a trifle.' My dad was an expert at bricolage as I've already mentioned.) 9. moment of recognition or discovery (in a play, etc); the unfolding or denouement - ANAGNORISIS (The "Aha! moment. It comes from the Greek anagnorizein 'to recognise or discover') 10. bashful; modest - VERECUND (From the Latin verecundus 'respect') If you feel your writing could do with a bit of a boost, then you need a visit from the Edit Elf! Failing that, you could instead use this natty little program where you can have your very own digital editor suggesting bettter words for everything you write. No more dashing to the Thesaurus when a quick click on the F2 button will have all the synonyms you could ever need. Find out more now. Subscribe Here If you've received this little missive from a friend, you can get your very own issue, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every Friday morning by clicking here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogrups.com Did you know that every newsletter is archived? So if you've missed anything since 1998 or want to revisit some favourites, you can do so any time! Don't forget to bookmark the page when you get there ... or even make it your Home Page. (For Internet Explorer, just click on Tools ... Internet Options ... General ... fill in www.write101.com/archives/index.htm and click OK. For Netscape, select Edit ... Preferences. Then select Navigator from the left menu, click Home Page and enter the URL above next to Location and click OK. For all the flash new browsers, you'll have to do a search on my mate google to find what to do. There's a search box on the archives page!) An Ape that wants to play Hamlet after being type-cast as King Kong, a talking anvil and that rottweiller ... Dr Morgenes is still caught in the nightmare that is the casting couch. Help him find a plot! Just click on the Comments button at the end of the entry to add your contribution. If you have friends who fancy themselves as writers, invite them to contribute (just forward this newsletter in its entirety to them). I often trawl this for comments to post on my site ... so if you say something about the newsletter or site, be warned, you may end up being read by one of the 2,000+ unique visitors who visit Write101 every day! Make your Mark on the World. Then stop by our Map of the World and read the messages. (Just click List) and add your mark. A Little Something Extra This week, some reminders about the importance of choosing the right word for every spot! Sonia Fischer writes, "Word choice is very important when writing any story, but verb choice is critical in conveying scene and characterization to the reader. Verbs are the element in the sentence that conveys action to the reader. In other words, the verb tells the reader what the person or thing is doing. "Picking the wrong verb can completely change the image conveyed to the reader." Read how to find that elusive right word: http://www.write101.com/verb-choice.htm Word of the week: Ugsome (adj) I just love this word ... it means exactly what you think it should mean. If someone (or something) is ugsome, it's loathsome, offensive, disgusting. It comes from the Old Norse word uggr 'fear.' Oxymoron of the week: Streaker's dressing room And a couple of Latin phrases while you're in that grumpy mood ... I don't know why you're still feeling this way ... Me? No, I'm on top of the world again ... You have to learn to let it go! Gee ... Actus reus [AHK-toos RAY-oos] (a guilty act) Mens rea [MAYNS RAY-oos] (a guilty mind) Did you know that you can have your very own Latin reminders? How about undies proclaiming, Bene est rex esse? (It's good to be king) Or a shopping bag that warns, Emptrix nata sum (Born to shop)? Click here for these and more: http://www.cafepress.com/write101 Kind regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Here's how: 1. Pay by PayPal: OR 2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure order form. (You can also access the PayPal subscription link from this page if the link above didn't work for you. With PayPal, you can use your credit card, PayPal account or pay online using your own cheque account.) OR 4. Send a cheque (made payable to Jennifer Stewart) Copyright 2006 Jennifer Stewart Individual articles copyrighted by
their authors. |
