by Naomi L. | August 25, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: melodramatic
Pronunciation: me-lə-drə-MA-tik
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: exaggerated, sensationalized or overemotional
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Prince Edward: You lying, murderous wretch! When we return home, Andalasia shall know of your treachery! Your days as queen will be over!
Queen Narissa: Take my crown? Don’t you think that’s a bit melodramatic, dear?
Prince Edward: I don’t know what “melodramatic” means, but you’ll be removed from the throne, Narissa! I will see to it.
– Enchanted (2007)
Although I had long been familiar with the word “melodramatic”, the above dialogue from the 2007 Disney film Enchanted is what inspired me to research it and, more recently, to include it in my vocabulary list. After discovering that his evil stepmother has poisoned his fiancé Giselle, Prince Edward promises to have her stripped of her title as Queen, a threat she nervously dismisses as unnecessarily dramatic. Of course, had Edward understood what she was saying, he certainly would have disagreed that his punishment would be unfair, given that she was attempting to murder his future princess.
Action regarded as “melodramatic” is exaggerated, sensationalized and overly emotional in nature. In other words, it’s dramatic for the sake of being dramatic. Derived from the noun “melodrama”, the word can be traced back to the French noun mélodrame, which in turn is comprised of the Greek noun melos “music” and the French noun drame “drama”.
In my opinion, “melodramatic” is especially useful for describing artistic characters such as actors and other performers. As for my experience with it, the last time I used the term “melodrama” in a story was satirically, to draw attention to a character’s impulsive and emotional behavior. I’ve always thought this word works best to make fun of overly dramatic actions, so you’ll probably get the most use out of it in this sense as well. Just take care not to make your stories unintentionally “melodramatic”!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
by Naomi L. | August 20, 2014 | Blog, Creative Writing |
Hello, and welcome to this year’s August round of Writers Reveal! First off, I’d like to welcome a new member who’s joining us this month: Lee-Anne Walker of “Is it just me?“. Welcome to the circle, Lee-Anne! Glad to have you with us!
Today’s topic was sent to us by Emily Hawker, who suggested the prompt: “when I grow up”. Since I’ve already written a nonfiction post about this topic for Writers Reveal in the past, I decided to use this second opportunity to write a short story based on that idea. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for the prompt, Emily!
Dreaming Big
Carl Fredricksen’s house, from Pixar’s UP (2009)
You have to choose one.
That was all Sophie had been hearing for the past two weeks. To say it was starting to get on her nerves was an understatement.
Everyone else already knows. You should too.
But how could she? There were so many options that it was impossible to pick just one! It was too much pressure from her teacher, from her parents, from society in general. Fourteen was too young to know what she wanted to be when she grew up, and anyone else her age who said they already knew was almost definitely lying.
“Sophie…” Ms. Miller took a seat at her desk after all the other students had left. “I understand this is difficult, but I really do need you to make a choice by Friday. This paper is part of your grade. I don’t want to have to fail you because of something so trivial. It doesn’t have to be your final decision for life; I’m only asking for three to five pages on a career that interests you now.”
The teenage girl looked down at the pencil she was nervously tapping on her own desk. It was hard enough to produce an essay about any topic, but having a separate deadline for the subject matter only made it all the more stressful.
“I need more time”, she muttered awkwardly for the third time since last Monday. “Can’t I just surprise you at the end of the month?”
The English teacher shook her head. “The reason I ask for the topics two weeks in advance is so you’ll all have plenty of time to write the actual essays. I don’t want you scrambling for something to write about at the last minute, otherwise your work will suffer. Please think about it, Sophie. I expect you to have an answer by Friday.”
On that cue, Sophie grabbed her backpack and headed out the door, leaving Ms. Miller to sigh in exasperation at an empty classroom. It was going to be a long week.
From that Monday afternoon to Thursday morning, Sophie questioned everyone she knew about their chosen career paths, and each of them seemed to have a different insight on the subject. Her father claimed to enjoy his job as a business executive, while her mother encouraged her to consider a career in the sciences. Her older brother, who had been working toward a football scholarship for the last year, said he might want to become a professional athlete. Her friends had already expressed interest in every profession from doctors and lawyers to astronauts and world-touring singers. Even her parents’ friends and her friends’ parents had some interesting input, as several of them had switched majors in the middle of college and others still had yet to figure out what they really wanted to do with their lives!
So many ideas had been contributed in the last few days that by the time Sophie sat down at her room’s computer desk on Thursday afternoon, her head was still spinning with all the possibilities. The problem was not that she didn’t want to try any of them; it was that she wanted to try all of them. How could she hope to choose only one career when they all sounded so appealing?
Frustrated, the teenager glanced over at her bookshelf. She couldn’t remember ambition ever being this overwhelming. She used to spend hours getting lost in her books, reading about people who sailed across the ocean or had adventures in the sky, who solved mysteries and saved lives and fought for justice, and she’d always wonder if real life could be just as exciting as the stories on her shelf.
And that was when it hit her. Perhaps there was a solution to her dilemma after all, a way she could give her teacher an answer while still staying true to herself. Suddenly inspired, Sophie turned back to her desk and began to type. She typed all through the afternoon and well into the night, pausing only once for dinner and stopping only when the final period had been placed on the very last sentence at a quarter to midnight. Breathing an immense sigh of relief, the 14-year-old printed out her work and shut her computer off to prepare for her first good night’s sleep in weeks.
The following afternoon, after the bell rang at the end of English class and all her peers had filed out, Sophie approached Ms. Miller at her desk.
“So, Sophie”, the teacher began, “have you finally come up with–?”
Her question was cut short when the teenager dropped a stapled stack of papers on the desk. The adult glanced at it in surprise before looking up at her student with a puzzled expression.
“What is this?”
“My essay”, said Sophie with a smile. “All five pages of it. I had to edit some stuff out to make it fit, but it’s all there.”
Ms. Miller was amazed. “How did you manage this?”
“I thought a lot about what you said, that I had to make a choice, and I realized – no offense – that you were wrong. I figured out a way that I can choose everything and still do something completely different from all of it. And now I finally know what I want to do with my life.”
The teacher picked up the paper to study it closely. After reading the title, Ms. Miller looked up at her student with a smile that suggested she had never been prouder of her. Sophie could hardly contain her excitement as she announced her dream with a broad grin.
“I’m going to be a writer.”
This has been a special topic post for Writers Reveal, a monthly blog swap among several talented writers. Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the event. Thanks for reading!
Other bloggers in Writers Reveal
Melissa Khalinsky: Melissa Writes
Becky Fyfe: Imagine! Create! Write!
Ashley Howland: Ghostnapped
Emily Hawker: You Learn Something New Every Day
Lee-Anne Walker: Is it just me?
We’re looking for more bloggers to join our circle! If you’re interested in participating in this monthly roundup, be sure to contact Emily Hawker so she can include you in our email list. Thank you!
by Naomi L. | August 18, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: countenance
Pronunciation: KOWN-t(e)n-əns
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a person’s face or facial expression
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.
– Dr. Frankenstein, Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818)
Remember how I once mentioned that Frankenstein was my seventh-grade Language Arts teacher’s favorite novel? And that she used the book to teach us plenty of vocabulary words? Well, here’s another of her favorite words that made it onto the blackboard as the Word of the Day. In the above example, Dr. Frankenstein uses it to define the horror he’s created, but don’t assume it always has to mean something bad.
A person’s “countenance” is their face or expression. The word comes from the Old French noun contenance (“bearing” or “behavior”), which in turn is ultimately derived from the Latin verb continere “contain”. The original definition of “countenance” was “bearing” or “demeanor”, but eventually became associated with facial expressions.
I have a confession to make regarding this word: I almost used it in a story once, but ended up cutting it because it seemed a bit too “purple” for its context. I realized during editing that “countenance” sounded overly poetic, and I felt it would stand out in a narrative that mostly consisted of much simpler text. That doesn’t mean you couldn’t make it work, of course; “countenance” can also mean “support”, or function as a verb to mean “admit as acceptable or possible”, so you may still be able to find a place for it even if you don’t plan to use it to indicate a character’s expression. As long as it fits the overall tone of your writing, you shouldn’t have a problem pulling it off. Have fun writing about the “countenances” of your characters!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
by Naomi L. | August 13, 2014 | Blog, Creative Writing, What If? Writing Prompts |
I’ve covered the question “What if?” pretty thoroughly in the last couple of weeks. On the off chance you haven’t had enough yet, here’s one more batch of “What If?” writing prompts for you, this time in one of my favorite genres: romance. See what you can do with these, and feel free to add more of your own! Enjoy!
What if… love at first sight – true love in one look – actually can happen in real life?
What if… Friar Laurence’s plan had worked, and Romeo and Juliet had succeeded in running away together?
What if… nobody believed in fate, but instead had to trust in their own abilities to find love?
What if… people only ever fell in love based on inner beauty?
What if… love is an emotion that isn’t exclusive to humans, but that any living creature is capable of experiencing?
Good luck spinning your own tales in the timeless theme of romance!
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. | August 11, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: paean
Pronunciation: PEE-ən
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a song of praise or triumph
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
I recently discovered this word on YouTube when I happened upon a video of a VOCALOID song titled “Eternal Paean” (translated from its Japanese title 悠久賛歌 “Yūkyū Sanka”). Curious to know what exactly a “paean” was, I did a quick search for its dictionary entry, and when I learned what the word meant, I realized how fitting it was for a song in which Kaito and Meiko sing about the beauty and splendors of nature. After all, is there anything on this Earth that deserves more praise?
A “paean” is a song that demonstrates triumph or praise. This Latin derivative originated from the Greek noun paian, meaning “hymn of thanksgiving to Apollo” (the Greek god of the sun, knowledge and various arts). This noun evidently comes from the name Paion (or one of its alternative spellings), who, according to Greek mythology, was the physician of the gods.
Note that a “paean” doesn’t necessarily have to be a song. Another use for the word is to indicate a creative work that expresses enthusiastic praise, such as books that can be considered “paeans” to knowledge. Since I myself only recently learned about this word, I have yet to find a good place for it in my own stories, but if you feel it fits the tone of your writing, feel free to get as creative with it as you like. Your stories may just come across as “paeans” to artistic language!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
by Naomi L. | August 6, 2014 | Blog, Creative Writing, What If? Writing Prompts |
Last week, I shared my thoughts on why I believe “What if?” should be every writer’s favorite question. In the interest of running with that idea, today I’m opening a new segment on my blog based on this fascinating “gateway” question: “What If?” Writing Prompts!
The purpose of this is to create a more interactive portion of my blog where anyone can contribute their ideas for collective creativity. With a hectic schedule coming up in my real life that will definitely keep me from writing as often as I like, outside contribution will be a big help to keeping my blog an active source of inspiration for readers in the near future. So please, don’t be shy about sharing your ideas; I would love to feature your prompts in future “What If?” posts, always with full credit and a link to your blog, of course! Thank you!
To start this segment off, here are five prompts I came up with based on the theme of reimagining classic fairy tales. See what you can do with these and how many more you can think up yourself! Have fun!
What if… certain fairy tales were set in a different time/place/culture?
(Source: various reimagined adaptations of my favorite fairy tales)
What if… that fire-breathing dragon the knight slew was really a divine guardian keeping an evil princess captive in order to protect the kingdom?
What if… the Fairy Godmother had actually sent Cinderella to the ball on a mission to kill the Prince?
(Source: music video for “Cendrillon“, a VOCALOID song by Signal-P featuring Hatsune Miku and KAITO)
What if… witches and wizards didn’t use magic to make amazing things happen, but real science instead?
What if… characters in fairy tales never fell in love at first sight?
Sure, these may not be outstanding, but at least they’re a start. Good luck reimagining your favorite fairy 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!
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