A few years ago, on its website, Merriam-Webster asked visitors to provide their favorite words. Of the thousands of words submitted, the following ten appeared most frequently: defenestration serendipity onomatopoeia discombobulate plethora callipygian juxtapose persnickety kerfuffle … [Read more...] about Favorite Words
Archives for May 2018
Preparing a Book Proposal
If you’re writing a book and plan to submit it to a commercial publishing house, an important first step will be to prepare a formal book proposal. Typically, publishers and literary agents will first want to see a proposal, instead of your complete manuscript. A well-written and complete book proposal will open … [Read more...] about Preparing a Book Proposal
Quintessence – Part 2
In today’s disposable, biodegradable, assembly-line, cookie-cutter society, has the quality of quintessence, this “consummate instance,” this “most perfect manifestation,” this “transcendent specimen,” been lost, sacrificed on the altars of mediocrity and imitation? Not so, at least not to authors Betty Cornfeld and … [Read more...] about Quintessence – Part 2
Quintessence – Part 1
The Greeks had a word for it. They called it pempte ousia. To the Romans, it was quinta essentia. In ancient times, these names were given to a concept that attempted to explain what was otherwise unexplainable. The Greeks and Romans, and their counterparts in other civilizations, believed everything in the world … [Read more...] about Quintessence – Part 1
Resources for Writers
Books: The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), The University of Chicago Press The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and Libel Manual The Elements of Style, Strunk & White The Art of Readable Writing, Rudolf Flesch On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, William Zinsser The Complete … [Read more...] about Resources for Writers
The Power of the Tongue
“Encouragement is awesome. Think about it: It has the capacity to lift a man’s or woman’s shoulders. To spark the flicker of a smile on the face of a discouraged child. To breathe fresh fire into the fading embers of a smoldering dream.” ~ Charles Swindoll Several frogs were traveling through the woods, when two of … [Read more...] about The Power of the Tongue
“Reasons” not to Change
“Little men with little minds and little imagination jog through life in little ruts, smugly resisting all changes which would jar their little worlds.” ~ Marie Fraser We tried it once, and it didn’t work. Someone else tried it and it didn’t work. We’ve never done it that way. It’s never been tried … [Read more...] about “Reasons” not to Change