It’s January, and the character prompts for this month revolve around resolve. Ah, resolutions. Your character made a bet to shed a few pounds with a friend, who seems to be winning the friendly wager. How does your character step up the game? What means does he or she take? The hard road of eating right and…
Tag: writing prompts
Otherworldly Words: Mausoleum
This month, I’m exploring words named after people. I started with January. Today the mausoleum is thought of as a repository for our lost loved ones and part of what make historic cemeteries beautiful, peaceful places of quietude. Originally, however, the word had a very specific meaning as the tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria, who ruled part of…
Writing Prompt: Resolve
It’s January, and the character prompts for this month revolve around resolve. It’s time for your characters to resolve to improve themselves. What are your characters’ New Year’s Resolutions? Are they self-centered? Do they pledge to do more good? What a character resolves to do can speak volumes! If you enjoyed this post, look…
Otherworldly Words: January
January is a time for new beginnings, and apparently, for looking back. This month, I’m exploring words named for people, or, as in the case of January, named for a God. January is the month dedicated to Janus, the two-faced God of beginnings, transitions, and as such, doorways as well as the rising and setting of the…
Otherworldly Words: Mordant
Mordant derives from the Latin mordere meaning “to bite.” I have, on occasion, been accused of being mordant. I call it, “all in good fun.” I have even caused friends to storm off. Limits, man. It’s all about limits when you have a caustic wit. If you enjoyed this post, look around, or sign up…
Otherworldly Words: Dire
If you watch the news, you’re quite familiar with this word. many dire situations arise around the globe and dire predictions—from the stock market to the climate. Dire derives from the Latin, meaning fearful or unlucky. I think the crux of the word is in those two words together: we are filled with fear about…
Otherworldly Words: Pierrot
Clowns creep many people out. Why is that? Do you think it’s because they express a twisted duality within human nature, as a character who wears a sad face but makes us laugh with buffoonish antics; or conversely, wears a happy face while wilting inside. Or do you think it’s just because they’re freakin’ weird, and we…
Otherworldly Words: Tenebrous
November is associated with many things: Thanksgiving and Black Friday (in America and the Canadian border), the beginning of the Christmas season, and football. I, however, associate November with clouds. Oppressive, heavy, life-draining clouds. So, for me, tenebrous is a fitting word for November, as it is often both dark and gloomy. Tenebrous’s meaning as “obscure”…
Otherworldly Words: Timorous
This month in #Otherworldly Words, I am exploring words to do with fear. Timorous continues the path of words that cast contempt on those who show fear. Exploring the nature of fear is important. Certainly, fear has many natural components, survival instinct and adrenaline for instance. But the meaning we place on fear as a…
Otherworldly Words: Cower
This month in #Otherworldly Words, I am exploring words to do with fear. The first two words described cowardice. Cower is an action that demonstrates fear. Interesting is the link between being afraid and shame, since one can “cower with shame” as well as fear. If you enjoyed this post, look around, or sign up below…
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