Hey all! We’re trying something a little new for this list of writing prompts. I’ve seen people use dictionary definitions to inspire their writing. This is a list of some fun and unusual words for you! See what weird words spark your interest.
15 Writing Prompts – Dictionary Definitions
Confession: I have a lot of dictionaries. Some of them are totally normal. Webster’s Dictionaries, American Standard, all the big ones. Most of those I got for free. If I see a dictionary in a free book box, 90% of the time I pick it up.
I don’t know why. I rarely look in said dictionaries. Exactly once I gave a friend a used dictionary as a gift — he really wanted to have a real paper dictionary.
Some of my dictionaries are a little stranger. I have an anagram dictionary, a rhyming dictionary, multiple slang dictionaries, two “weird word” dictionaries, and more baby name books than I can count. There’s also a few thesauruses and other assorted reference books in the mix. I look forward to digging into them all for future prompts.
The definitions on this list are all taken from Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words, by Josefa Heifetz Byrne. I picked words at random, so it’s an odd mix.
My tip for the week? Don’t alloo on the quidam that hides in the uvid haha, y’all. I don’t care what kind of habromanic musard you are, or how big of a karimption you can gather. You never know what kind of crotaline manqueller might be spatrifying your haha.
Spell check hates me now.
Good luck, and may these words inspire wonderful worlds for you!
15 Dictionary Inspirations
1) Habromania
n. Extreme euphoria.
2) Crotaline
adj. Pertaining to rattlesnakes.
3) Manqueller
n. Murderer.
4) Uvid
adj. Moist or wet.
5) Musard
n. An absent-minded dreamer, or fool.
6) Gulosity
n. Enormous appetite; greediness.
7) Haha
n. A sunken wall, invisible from a distance.
8) Spatrify
v.t. & i. To besmirch, befoul; to sully and spot.
9) Alloo
v.t. To set on; to incite.
10) Peristerophily
n. The breeding, care, and training of pigeons.
11) Jactancy
n. Boasting, bragging.
12) Irpe
adj. A grimace or bodily contortion
13) Fimblefamble
n. Excuse, particularly a phony one; a lying answer.
14) Quidam
n. An unknown person.
15) Karimption
n. A crowd; a mass.
Look, I never said I would make it easy on you, okay? That would’ve been plain fimblefamble.
Hey there! It’s officially University Season, so between that and the upkeep of my business, I highly doubt I’ll have much time to post. That said, I have a new writing tip! It’s one I found very helpful recently – having a daily word count goal.
Writing Tip #7 – Daily Word Count Goals
Last week, I finished writing a book. Okay, it was a rough draft of a book. A very rough draft. It still has many issues to fix before anyone besides friends and family even can know about it.
But I finished, dammit. I wrote a book.
And I’m not saying that to brag (much). I’m proud, but I also want you to have to tools you need to do the same.
If you’re here, you want to know how to write better (I hope). I totally get that. I didn’t find it in me to write a real book until after I’d read dozens of other author’s works, online and in print, on how to tell a story.
All of those things helped me get to the point I am today. I learned many lessons from all–on plot, characters, form, whatever.
That said, the tools for helping with the act of writing did little for me. For whatever reasons, certain tips that other authors swear by did nothing to motivate me. I had to find my own limits and skills.
The tool that worked the best for me? Making myself write no less than a certain number of words every day.
Early this summer, right after my spring classes ended, I told myself that I would try to write a book. I had no real plans to speak of for the summer, so I made a daily schedule for myself–write in the morning, read in the afternoon, do tasks for this blog and my business in the evening.
Based on the total word count I expected, and a rough estimate of the number of days I had, I knew I’d have to write more than 500 words every day if I wanted to finish before classes started.
It wasn’t the first time I gave myself that task for the summer. Two years in a row, I wrote at least 500 words a day on a vague comic book script (still not even halfway done). Sure, it was vague. The rules changed as I felt like it. Not writing on the weekends? Sure, why not. On vacation? That’s fine.
I wrote. Lots of words hit the page. It worked well, and got some of my story out.
This time, I wasn’t nearly as lenient.
The Rules
500 words had to happen. Each day. Every day. No exceptions.
It’s a weekend? 500 words.
Stressed out and tired? 500 words.
Only an hour to write? 500 words.
On vacation? 500 words. Or more.
Sometimes I could barely reach that number. Sometimes I blew way past. Writing dialogue? Suddenly 1,000+ new words are on the page. Writing a bit of plot that totally lost me? Exactly 501 words written, finished at 1:30 PM.
When I started working on the project, that barely happened. I’d finish before noon each day, often with at least 600 words. After two months of straight writing, it got a whole lot harder.
Should I have taken breaks? Probably. Did I have time to? Nope.
More importantly, was I gonna break my 500 per day streak just because I had a bad day? Hell no.
Going Over the Count is Okay!
In the last month or so of writing, I realized I needed to do 750 a day to get to the total count I expected the book to finish at. But I didn’t reset my count calculators to help. So I kept writing 500. Sometimes I’d get to 750, sometimes 1,000.
It wasn’t enough.
Last week I wrote 1,500+ words for 5 days in a row.
I’m still coming off of the exhausting high of finishing my book.
But I finished.
If you’ve got the muse or the determination, don’t stop. Get it out.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up If You Miss the Goal
Okay, I have to be honest–at least with this last session, I would’ve beat myself up for not getting to 500. No matter what I say, my brain still thinks of 500 words as generously low.
It’s not.
Getting up and writing ANYTHING, be it a sentence or thirty pages, is so much more than most people will ever do.
Seriously.
I probably should’ve taken some breaks to clear my head. I didn’t. But I also had the luxury of not having many commitments while I was writing.
If I missed my goal right now, with all my other deadlines, I wouldn’t get too stressed about it. Remember, writing should have an element of love and passion, not just numerical goals all the time.
Or, to be blunt, unless you’re lucky enough to have a publisher/agent, you’re the only one who cares if you miss your goal.
Word Count Varies Per Person
The advice I see all the time is to just write. To put all the words on the page. Don’t think about it. Just do it.
That has never worked for me. I am a perfectionist. Every word must be perfect. The sentence lengths must vary. The word choice must make sense for the given character. Words and phrases can’t repeat in the same section. So on and so forth.
I can’t turn my need for perfection off, but I don’t mind anymore. I just have to work around the slow pace that results.
That means that, for the most part, the 1,667 words a day or 10,000 per weekend or whatever that NaNoWriMo requires? Not possible for me. Especially not if I do anything other than write during the day or want sleep.
And I want sleep. That much I refuse to give up for anything, good grades and writing included.
So, 500 words is my magic daily word count.
Famous Authors and their Daily Word Counts
Years ago, I found this great article and chart at Writers Write that shares the approximate daily word counts of 39 different authors, plus quotes about writing from each of them. It’s worth a look.
But with caution.
I love Ray Bradbury. Ray Bradbury wrote 1,000 words a day. I am not Ray Bradbury.
The thing is, the bulk of Bradbury’s words, especially in the early days? Those words paid him directly, thanks to the golden age of fast-paced pulp fiction where more words meant more money.
He had much more financial motivation to write more than me. The same goes for the 2,000 words Stephen King writes. No one pays me to write. I only have my own passion to drive me. Passion is great–but sometimes it needs a kick in the ass to keep up.
If you’re not a professional writer, you can’t expect yourself to meet the daily word counts of one. Especially not if you have a full time job or education that has nothing to do with writing.
Right now, the words I have time to write are limited to lab reports, blog posts, and my nightly journal entry. I simply don’t have the time or energy to write fiction. And that’s okay.
When I have the motivation to write again, I will. No matter my surroundings.
If you have the motivation to write, what are you still doing here? Go write!
What’s Your Magic Daily Word Count?
How do you know how many words you can write in a day?
Trial and error, my friend. That’s it.
See what you write when you’re feeling driven, when you can devote all your attention to your writing. See how much you write when you want to throw your computer across the room. The sweet spot for most days is probably in the middle.
As I mentioned, 500 is mine. I found out early on in writing that 2,000+ words a day? It ain’t happening. As far as I can recall, I’ve done that once. Last week. When I was pushing all of my energy into finishing by a deadline.
Most of the time? 500 is the max of what I can do in a reasonable period.
You might be able to drop 2,000 words a day like it’s nothing. More power to you. Maybe 500 is too much for you. That’s cool too.
Find a way to get yourself to write. Some writing is better than none. If you take nothing else away from this, remember that. If you want to be a writer, you have to write.
Having a daily word count goal can make that easier.
I’m not particularly goal-driven, but if I start something, good luck getting me to stop. I’ve written in my journal every single day since May 2013. I’m stubborn. Word count streaks work for me better than anything else.
Maybe they won’t work for you. That’s fine. I hope you’re able to find the method that does motivate you. Some people do well with timed sessions. That’s not for me, but I might write a tip on that someday in the future, since it seems to help others.
The big thing is to not give up. If one way of writing doesn’t work, find another. The internet is filled with helpful hints for your perusal.
Tools to Use
If you write non-linearly like I do, find yourself an app with word count tracking built in–as in, you can see exactly how many new words you’ve written.
I use Highland 2, which lets you make a “goal” of total words, total pages, new words, or new pages, and shows you the progress as you write. I love it and hate it. It makes it easy to check how I’m doing–but also how much I have left.
NaNoWriMohas tracking tools during the month of November, and possibly year round? Like I said–writing 50,000 words in a month is not for me. Worth
A quick web search for “word counter” will also reveal dozens of free tools for counting your total word number, and there’s a couple of free apps as well for tracking.
If all else fails, make a spreadsheet! Most word processors also have ways to display your total word count. You can make a note of the count when you start, or use the total count to make milestones. Start at 213? Aim for 750, or 1,000.
Some authors track page count as an alternative. This is also great! Two double-spaced pages is usually a little more than 500 words. Most word processors can also track that.
As always, find what works for you.
About 1750 words in 2 days, in case you were wondering about this article. 😉
Welcome to the literary list #2 writing prompt extravaganza! Today I’ve got 7 fresh prompts to share, all of which come from dialogue in books, plays, and comics. For no particular reason, all prompts also appear on pages 37, 38, or 39 of my copy.
Writing Prompts – Literary List #2
Let’s be real, you’re not here to hear me talk about the list. You want the prompts, and I don’t blame you! These 7 are great fun, and since they all started as chunks of dialogue, you should find inspiration quickly for your own dialogue, poetry, or whatever.
I just need to say, that last one reads way more dieselpunk than it should, given the actual subject of the book. And I love it.
Remember to mix things up a bit if you’re planning on publishing the resulting work. I make an effort to find generic but interesting sentences, but don’t take chances. Change the wording, pronouns, whatever. Don’t plagiarize, people.
Good luck, and enjoy!
Prompts #8-14
“You made me look ridiculous in there.”
“I looked just as ridiculous as you did.”
– Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard
“I found another bone!…Boy, this is a weird one.”
– Weirdos From Another Planet, A Calvin & Hobbes Collection, Bill Watterson
“Are you running away from anything?”
“No. I’m not running away from anything. Not in the way you mean.”
Shane, Jack Schaefer
“I don’t need anything.”
“You’ll need your nightgown.”
“I’ll sleep naked.”
“The Next In Line” in The October Country, Ray Bradbury
“You can do what you want to do.”
“I’ll go back with you. I’m on my way down there.”
The Piano Lesson, August Wilson
“And if anyone comes–“
“Who might come? Will it be soldiers? Like the ones on the corners?”
“I really don’t think anyone will.”
– Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
“His ancestors have probably lived in that alley for generations.”
“So he’s one of us.”
“I suppose so.”
Dewey the Library Cat, Vicki Myron (w/Bret Witter)
Put your hand up if you struggle with using punctuation with quotation marks in your writing. I know I put my hand up. Today’s writing tip rodeo focuses on resolving our confusion about quotes! “Yeehaw!” said Paulie the Possum.
Writing Tip #6 – Quotation Marks and Punctuation
I generally consider myself decent with grammar. The use of punctuation within quotes, though, that I struggle with. The sad part of that? Dialogue is my favorite thing to write.
It turns out, using punctuation with quotation marks isn’t that difficult. Easy to forget, maybe, but not difficult. So, to help you remember the rules, I’ve made a little guide, featuring a conversation between Paulie the Possum and Ollie the Otter!
Please note, this guide is about American English rules, not British English rules. You can find most of the rules I’m working with here and here.
A few general rules
Quotation marks only go around direct quotes. If you’re summarizing what someone said, not their exact words, don’t use quotes!
YES: This post is about “resolving our confusion about quotes.”
YES: This post talks about how to resolve your issues with quotation marks.
NO: This post discusses “how to resolve your issues with quotes.”
There’s a few other rules hidden in there: first off, notice how none of the quotes are capitalized? The quotes don’t start a new sentence–they’re actually a direct part of the sentence using the quotes. So, no capitalization needed (dialogue is a little different–see following examples).
Similarly, there are no commas just before the quotes, because the quotes function as subjects of the sentence. Again, dialogue is often a little different.
Periods
The basic rule: if it’s a period or represents a period, it goes WITHIN the quotation marks. Not outside. Not outside with a comma inside. Just INSIDE and alone.
“What do you mean by ‘represents a period’?” you may ask. Well, if a sentence continues after the quotation, use a comma instead of a period right before the second quotation mark. See the examples below for more information.
Some examples:
“I like flowers,” Paulie the Possum said.
Ollie the Otter said, “I like rivers better.”
“Well,” Paulie retorted, “you’re an otter.”
“Yep.” Ollie grinned.
In the first sentence, the end of Paulie’s words do not end the sentence. Thus, a comma is used instead of a period. And yes, the comma should be used even if it’s only a word of dialogue!
In the second sentence, the tag that tells us it’s Ollie speaking comes before his words. The sentence leads into the quote, but the quote is a separate part of the sentence, so a comma is used to show that break. Ollie’s actual dialogue ends the sentence, and thus has a period at the end, WITHIN the quotes.
The third sentence ends the same way, but the speaking tag is in the middle. Even though Paulie’s spoken sentence isn’t over, we put a comma just before the quote mark. The second part of Paulie’s line is lowercase, because he didn’t stop speaking.
The fourth sentence is actually two sentences. In the first sentence, we see only dialogue, Ollie’s line, and end the line with a period (WITHIN the quotes). The second sentence stands alone.
Also. A general dialogue rule. IF IT’S A NEW PERSON TALKING START A NEW PARAGRAPH. Please. We will all thank you.
Question Marks (and Exclamation Marks)
Question marks and exclamation points follow rules similar to periods, but without the fun challenge of replacing them with commas.
Some Examples:
“Why are we doing this?” Ollie asked, suspicious.
Paulie the Possum laughed. “Why not?”
Ollie snorted. “Because it’s silly!”
“You’re silly!” Paulie replied.
Ollie wondered , was he really that “silly”?
In the first example, Ollie asks the question, not the person writing the line (me) so the question mark goes in the quotes. The fourth example is similar, with an exclamation point instead.
DO NOT put a comma after the quote marks. Your word processor might make you want to by capitalizing the next word obnoxiously and messing up your flow if you don’t, but ignore it. Seriously.
The second and third lines show how you can use question marks and exclamation points with quotes ending the sentences – like periods, they go INSIDE the quotes. No period needed.
In the fifth example, the sentence directly asks a question. Even though the quoted word comes at the end of the sentence, the quote isn’t the question. Ollie’s thoughts are, so
On that note–I don’t using quotes with a character’s thoughts, but that’s mostly a style choice. You do you.
Other Punctuation
Unless you’re writing a formal paper or book with block quotes in it, or other longer, standalone sentences, you probably won’t need to use colons or semicolons. If you do, look it up, because different style guides might have different rules about what to do.
If you use em dashes in your dialogue, they go inside the quotes if they’re a part of the dialogue. However, if they divide the dialogue up, the dashes go outside the quotes.
Ollie grumbled, “I’m not that silly, I’m–“
“No”–Paulie laughed–“you’re otterly ridiculous.”
Although, honestly, I kinda hate how that last one looks, so I’d just use commas there, personally.
If you have any doubts, ever, look it up. Trust me, this isn’t something you want to mess up and have to fix throughout your 40,000+ word manuscript. Promise. It sucks. Now go forth and write! And don’t pay attention to Paulie, he’s just giving Ollie a hard time for the sake of theater.
!["If you write 10k [words] a day, you will end up with a book. If you write 1k a day, you will end up with a book. If you write 500 words every Tuesday, you will end up with a book. If you write 100 words before bed, or 50 whenever you can, you will end up with a book. The only way you won't end up with a book is if you quit." - VE Schwab](https://possumpaperworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/quote_schwab.jpg)
