Word of the Week: Munificent
Word: munificent
Pronunciation: myoo-NI-fə-sənt
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: larger or more generous than is usual or necessary
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
The holidays are upon us, and what better way to acknowledge the season of giving today than with a word about generosity? Today’s Word of the Week is a great one to keep in mind for those people and gestures that are extremely generous in spirit. We all likely know someone who loves to give (perhaps including ourselves), especially during the holidays, so around this time of year, you and your loved ones may expect to give and/or receive some “munificent” gifts!
A “munificent” gift or sum of money is considerably more generous than is necessary or usual. The word arose in the late 16th century and comes from the Latin adjective munificus, meaning “bountiful”. This adjective stems from the noun munus, which means “gift”.
While “munificent” primarily refers to a bountiful gift or gesture, it can also be used to describe a person with a very generous nature. It shouldn’t be confused with the adjective “magnificent”, although it’s easy to associate these words with each other as they both have highly positive connotations. If you write characters who love to give, you can surely have fun writing plenty of “munificent” acts into your stories! Happy Holidays!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
White Wonderland
Crystal rain falling
Sprinkled all across the land
Winter has arrived
Icy wind blowing
Snowflakes dancing on the breeze
Shine in the moonlight
Magic in the air
Virgin snow brightens the world
A white wonderland
What If? Writing Prompts: Holidays II
And so we reach the end of another year! To celebrate, here are some new “What If?” Writing Prompts for you, once again set to the theme of the holiday season! See what sorts of fun stories you can spin from these ideas! Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!
What if… you discovered a group of elves making toys in your house?
What if… you received a Christmas present from a secret admirer?
What if… one of Santa’s reindeer showed up lost outside your home a week before Christmas?
What if… one year, in a “Secret Santa” fashion, you and your family drew names to choose each other’s New Year’s resolutions?
What if… everyone took time to do volunteer work during the holiday season?
Have fun writing your own holiday tales!
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!
Word of the Week: Paramount
Word: paramount
Pronunciation: PAR-ə-mount
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: more important than anything else; supreme
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
No, not the movie studio nor the city in California. Today’s Word of the Week is a good one to use for the most important things in your stories. Sometimes when you need to convey a tone of great urgency in your writing, adjectives like “vital” and “crucial” simply aren’t enough. For those events that just can’t wait, “paramount” may be exactly the word you need!
Something described as “paramount” is of the utmost importance. The word arose in the mid 16th century and comes from the Anglo-Norman French adverb paramont, meaning “above”. This adverb comprises two Old French roots: the preposition par “by” and the adverb amont “above”.
While it’s commonly used as an adjective for extremely important things or events, “paramount” can also be used to describe people with supreme power, such as a “paramount” chief. Based on its definition, I assume this word sits at the very end of the importance spectrum and thus should only be used for the most critical of events. If your characters tend to face situations that must be dealt with right away, you may have room for some “paramount” points in your stories!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
Blog Makeover!
Oh yes, The Wolfe’s (Writing) Den is getting a major revamp! After two and a half years of blogging, I decided it was high time for a makeover. If you’re one of my regular readers, you may have noticed some changes to my site this weekend. In case you’re wondering what this update is all about, here’s a quick rundown of what’s new.
New theme!
The biggest change to my blog is the addition of a new theme: Divi by Elegant Themes! While I was happy with my previous theme – the Scribble child theme for the Genesis Framework by StudioPress – it did have one fundamental flaw: it was not mobile-responsive. With at least half your potential audience wielding smartphones, accessibility through mobile devices is extremely important for blogs these days, so I felt the need to upgrade to a highly customizable and responsive new theme for a more professional look. Hopefully now my blog will be much more aesthetically appealing to you mobile readers out there!
New logo and banner
With a fresh theme comes a fresh image! Every serious website needs its own unique image, so I had a talented young artist I know design a logo and banner with a couple of new characters for my blog. Introducing Jay and Wolfe, my new “blog mascots”! You’ll see them on my homepage and in the headers of my social media profiles. I think they add a little more charm to my blog, don’t you?
(Coming soon!) Guest posts and Indie Writer Spotlight interviews
Since I started blogging, I’ve been terribly possessive of my content. Every single one of the 400+ posts that have been published here was written by me, and the closest I’ve ever come to letting another author create content for my site is sharing infographics and accepting submissions for “What If?” Writing Prompts.
Now that I’m ready to start taking blogging a little more seriously, I’m considering opening up submissions for guest posts in the near future. I’d also like to continue my Indie Writer Spotlight segment soon by interviewing more indie authors about their books. So if you’re a blogger looking to expand your network and/or an indie author hoping to gain more exposure for your book, be sure to keep an eye out for updates about guest post exchanges and author interview requests! Information will be available on my Contact page, so feel free to send me a message!
That’s it for this news update! Minor features will continue to roll out as I find my way around this new theme, so expect to see some changes around the site over at least the next few weeks. I hope you’ll enjoy this major update of my blog! Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
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