spile I came across this word just recently while reading A Tale of Two Cities. It’s my first time reading Dickens and I’ve been quite impressed with the author’s mastery of prose. As with many older books, the vocabulary is rich and sometimes beyond me and ‘spile’ proved to be just such a word. In …
nook & cranny Well, you get two words this week. And most of you are probably familiar with them. They are often used together and frequently can be found on the lips of mothers to admonish their children to a more spirited level of cleaning. Not just a passing straightening up of a disorganized room, …
There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people. -G.K. Chesterton
I saw this exchange posted a while back on Pinterest and it made me smile. I’m almost certain that anyone who has ever gotten any enjoyment out of a story has had this experience. As I wrote a while back, the characters we read about often become our friends while we’re following their journeys and …
transom This word refers to the surface of the stern (rear) of a boat or a support beam that runs atop a door or window. For this, the word might qualify as something obscure except those with a good nautical or architectural vocabulary (I love architectural terms, by the way). A lot of vocabulary is …
It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. – C.S. Lewis
This is the second half of my “Writing Process” article where I talk about how I go about crafting my novels. Part 1 can be found here. Second Draft Ah, the second draft. Time for spring cleaning. Here is where I address not only any typos or grammar issues I come across, but I rework …
I’m not sure how helpful or interesting this will be, especially to non-writers, but if you do find it interesting and would like to hear more posts along these lines, be sure to let me know over on my Facebook page. I thought I’d give a brief overview of how I write a book. I …
