by Naomi L. | September 14, 2016 | Blog, Creative Writing, What If? Writing Prompts |
My apologies, but I must leave you all with another set of “What If?” Writing Prompts this week. As I finish preparing for the defense of my Master’s thesis, it seems the only thing on my mind these days is science, so I thought it would be appropriate to share some more fantasy and science fiction prompts. Have fun writing new stories from these ideas, and feel free to add more of your own!
What if… a massive meteor were heading toward Earth… and only you knew how to stop it?
What if… you found a capsule in your backyard containing an alien artifact?
What if… you were granted the power to shape-shift into one magical creature of your choice?
What if… you could learn the ability to breathe fire or ice?
What if… magic were a field of science?
Good luck spinning more tales 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 12, 2016 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: clandestine
Pronunciation: klan-DES-tən / KLAN-des-tyn
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
While I’m on the subject of words I keep forgetting to add to my vocabulary list, here’s another Word of the Week that somehow kept getting pushed back in my memory before I finally dug it up last month. If I really tried, I could probably recall at least half a dozen instances when I heard or read this word somewhere and thought, “Oh yeah, I should make a note to blog about it,” only to forget again within the hour. Funny how words sometimes grow into their own definitions; it’s almost as if this secretive term is being purposely “clandestine” in my memory!
A “clandestine” act is one that’s done in secret, usually due to being illicit. The word arose in the mid 16th century and comes from the French adjective clandestin, which in turn derives from the Latin adjective clandestinus, meaning “secret” or “concealed”. This adjective stems from the adverb clam, which means “secretly”.
Sure enough, as its definition suggests, most instances in which I’ve read or heard the word “clandestine” were in the context of an illicit action (such as a meeting between parties who shouldn’t be seen together in public), though I’m fairly certain that needn’t always be the case. For those interested in a more obscure meaning, the word is also a freemasonry term for someone who isn’t recognized as a regular member. If your characters tend to engage in secretive and even illegitimate acts, you may have fun writing about the “clandestine” events in your stories!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
by Naomi L. | September 7, 2016 | Blog, Creative Writing, What If? Writing Prompts |
Yep, it’s another set of “What If?” Writing Prompts for you all! Since readers seemed to enjoy my list of five reasons I love historical fiction, I thought today I’d complement it with a new batch of history-themed prompts. What stories of the past can you create from these ideas? Good luck!
What if… the Confederacy had won the American Civil War?
What if… the Meiji Restoration, which returned imperial rule to Japan and catalyzed the nation’s modernization, had never happened?
What if… Africa had never been colonized by Europe?
What if… the Allies had failed to decrypt the Enigma code, used by Nazi Germany to encrypt military communication during World War II?
What if… Al Gore had won the 2000 U.S. presidential election?
Have fun writing some more historical 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!
by Naomi L. | September 5, 2016 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: obfuscate
Pronunciation: AHB-fə-skayt
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Today’s Word of the Week is one that I’ve actually been familiar with for a long time, but that for some reason keeps slipping in and out of my memory. I read it most recently in a blog post about pen names, and it suddenly occurred to me that even though I had already read this word several times before in articles and flashcards, I always kept forgetting to add it to my vocabulary list. Given this word’s definition, I suppose you could consider this a humorous coincidence. Isn’t it funny how a word that means “to make obscure” has been repeatedly “obfuscated” in my memory?
To “obfuscate” something is to render it unclear, unintelligible, or obscure. The word arose in late Middle English and comes from the Latin verb obfuscare, meaning “to darken”. This verb stems from the adjective fuscus, which means “dark”.
Perhaps it’s silly that I need to keep looking up the word “obfuscate”, since I realize that a good way to remember what it means is noticing that it contains almost all the letters of the word “obscure”. Note that aside from its main definition, which applies to objects and ideas, “obfuscate” can also be used in relation to people to mean “bewilder”. If you write mystery fiction or characters who tend to hide things, you may have fun trying to “obfuscate” some of the details in your stories!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
by Naomi L. | August 31, 2016 | Blog, Creative Writing |
It’s been a while since I last participated in Silver Threading and Ronovan Writes‘s Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge, so I’m jumping back in with a new piece today! With everything that’s been going on in my life lately, I really needed some creative inspiration this month. I hope you’ll enjoy my post for this challenge!
The theme for this week was strength. I know I usually pick author quotes for these challenges, so just for fun, today I went with a quote from a popular fictional character instead:
We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. – Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling, 2000)
Harry Potter has been one of my favorite book series since I was a child, and I remember always admiring Albus Dumbledore for his wisdom. Though the context of this quote is the foreshadowing of a war against Dark magic, Dumbledore’s words are just as relevant to the real world trials of good versus evil. So on that note, here’s a short poem I wrote inspired by these wise words. Enjoy!
Stronger United
How strong can we be
When we stand on our own,
When we pull our own weight,
Face our problems alone?
We may each try to be
The strongest at heart,
But with more foes than friends,
We will all fall apart.
How much stronger are we
When we all stand together,
Like brothers in arms
And birds of a feather?
When we fight the same battles
And chase the same dreams,
In the end we will prove
That true strength is in teams.
We are only as strong
As we are united,
And only as weak
As we are divided.
Victory comes
When no one gives in,
For divided we fall,
But united we win.
I hope you enjoyed my poem! Be sure to join the Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge and share your quote-inspired works! Thanks for reading!
Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge is a weekly blogging event by Colleen Chesebro of Silver Threading in collaboration with Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes. Be sure to check out both these authors’ blogs for your weekly dose of inspiration! Happy writing!
by Naomi L. | August 29, 2016 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: bucolic
Pronunciation: byoo-KAH-lik
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: of or relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
If you find much of your creative inspiration in nature, then today’s Word of the Week is for you. I’ve most often come across this word while reading poetic descriptions of the countryside or stories that take place in rustic settings, and I admit that while I didn’t really care for it at first, it’s been growing on me the more I’ve read and heard it. You could say it’s one of those adjectives that says it all; whenever a writer mentions the “bucolic” scenery in their work, you know to envision lovely images of country life!
Anything described as “bucolic” refers to the pleasant aspects of country life and the countryside. The word arose in the early 16th century and traces back through the Latin adjective bucolicus to the Greek adjective boukolikós, both of which mean “pastoral”. The latter adjective stems from the noun boukólos “herdsman”, which in turn derives from the noun bous, meaning “ox” or “cow”.
Interestingly, the original use of “bucolic” was as a poetic term to refer to a pastoral poem, and can still be used as a noun today in the same sense. “Bucolic” as a type of poetry is also another word for “eclogue”; the Eclogues of the Latin poet Virgil, for example, are also known as the Bucolics. Note that the adjective’s definition specifically mentions pleasant aspects of the countryside, so I would recommend using this word exclusively with a positive connotation. For those of you who write stories or scenes set in more rural areas, “bucolic” is a perfect word to describe the beauty found in the country!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
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