by Naomi L. | September 5, 2014 | J.C. Wolfe's Writing, Poetry |
A pair of rabbits hopping by,
A fox in hot pursuit.
A gentleman plays cello
While a lady plays the flute.
A blooming flower smiles
At a feather on the breeze.
A mouse hides in the corner
With a stolen piece of cheese.
A pirate ship goes sailing
On the early morning tide.
A whale swims within its wake,
Its great jaws open wide.
An arrow streaks across the sky,
Shot from an archer’s bow.
A sapling sprouts, and soon enough,
A tree begins to grow.
Circles, squares and diamonds
All seem oddly out of place
In a world with mermaids, dragons
And a giant human face.
Spotting complex figures
Is a pastime that I love.
How many shapes can you see
In the summer clouds above?
Based on a writing prompt from Writer’s Carnival: Cloud Shaping.
You are lying on your back with your best friend watching the clouds go by. Write a shortish poem about the shapes you see.
It may not exactly be “shortish”, but I had fun writing this poem nonetheless. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
by Naomi L. | September 3, 2014 | Blog, Creative Writing, What If? Writing Prompts |
Ready for another batch of “What If?” Writing Prompts? This week’s post features prompts in two of my favorite genres: fantasy and science fiction! Some clever writers over at Writer’s Carnival have offered interesting suggestions for “What If?” prompts, so be on the lookout for their ideas in this segment (two of them are in this post, while non-fantasy/sci-fi prompts will be featured in later posts). Thanks for the submissions, and be sure to keep the ideas coming! Enjoy!
What if… you woke up in another world?
(Submitted by: Anisa, one of the founders of Writer’s Carnival)
What if… you woke up in the middle of the night to the sun shining through your window?
(Submitted by: Kelleigh, another of the people behind Writer’s Carnival)
What if… non-human animals were secretly more intelligent than people?
What if… you found out the forest near your house was home to countless mythical creatures?
What if… you knew one of your neighbors was an extraterrestrial… but you didn’t know which one?
Good luck exploring the wonderful worlds of fantasy and science fiction!
If you have any “What If?” writing prompt suggestions (for any theme), please feel free to share them in the comments below. Ideas I like may be featured in future “What If?” posts, with full credit and a link to your blog (if you have one)! Also, if you’ve written a piece based on an idea you’ve found here, be sure to link back to the respective “What If?” post. I would love to see what you’ve done with the prompt! Thank you!
by Naomi L. | September 1, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: minutiae
Pronunciation: mə-N(Y)OO-shee-ai / mə-N(Y)OO-shə
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: the small, precise or trivial details of something
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
I can’t spend the rest of my life coming into this stinking apartment every ten minutes to pore over the excruciating minutia of every single daily event.
– Elaine Benes, Seinfeld (Season 8, Episode 3 – The Bizarro Jerry)
The first time I heard the word “minutiae” was in an episode of one of my favorite comedy TV series: Seinfeld. After discovering a complete-opposite version of Jerry, Elaine realizes she’s had enough of the original’s superficial way of life and proceeds to criticize their countless trivial conversations (which, hilariously enough, were exactly what made the show a pioneer in its style of comedy). Naturally, the fact that Jerry replies with yet another anecdote about “nothing” serves to prove her point and further add to the humor of the scene.
“Minutiae” (or “minutia”) are the minor and precise details of something. This plural noun comes from the Latin noun minutia, meaning “smallness”. This word, in turn, is derived from the adjective minutus, which means “small”.
One of the few times I recall using this word in a story was in a context similar to that of the above quote, in that it was intended to draw attention to the boring side of social convention. In this case, the character in the scene had just returned home from a party and was enjoying the peace of solitude after being liberated from the “minutia” of conversations in which she had absolutely no interest. I’m accustomed to seeing the word being used with a negative connotation, but I suppose it’s really a matter of preference. However you choose to work it into your writing, remember that the success of your stories may very well lie in the “minutiae” of the narrative! Good luck!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
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