Tag Archives: writing

June 29, 2022 · 9:43 AM

July 2022 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of July for writers and readers

  • July 1 – Canada Day / International Joke Day
  • July 2 – I Forgot Day / World UFO Day
  • July 3 – Compliment Your Mirror Day / Disobedience Day
  • July 4 – Independence Day (U.S.) / National Country Music Day
  • July 5 – National Apple Turnover Day / National Bikini Day / National Workaholics Day
  • July 6 – International Kissing Day / National Fried Chicken Day
  • July 7 – Chocolate Day / Global Forgiveness Day
  • July 8 – National Blueberry Day / National Motorcycle Day (2nd Friday in July)
  • July 9 – National Sugar Cookie Day
  • July 10 – Teddy Bear Picnic Day
  • July 11 – Cheer Up the Lonely Day / National Blueberry Muffin Day / World Population Day
  • July 12 – Pecan Pie Day / National Different Colored Eyes Day
  • July 13 – Barbershop Music Appreciation Day / National French Fry Day
  • July 13 – Embrace Your Geekness Day
  • July 14 – Bastille Day / National Macaroni and Cheese Day / National Nude Day / Shark Awareness Day
  • July 15 – Be a Dork Day / Cow Appreciation Day / National Give Something Away Day
  • July 17 – National Ice Cream Day
  • July 20 – Moon Day
  • July 21 – National Be Somebody Day
  • July 22 – Hammock Day
  • July 23 – National Day of the Cowboy / Vanilla Ice Cream Day
  • July 24 – Amelia Earhart Day / Cousins Day / National Tequila Day / Parents’ Day
  • July 26 – All or Nothing Day
  • July 27 – Walk on Stilts Day
  • July 29 – International Tiger Day
  • July 30 – International Day of Friendship
  • July 31 – Mutt’s Day / National Avocado Day

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June 25, 2022 · 2:42 AM

Word of the Week – June 25, 2022

Ratiocinate

[rash-ee-OH-sin-ate]

Verb

Latin, 17th century

Form judgments by a process of logic. Reason.

This word comes from the Latin word “ratiocinat,” which means “deliberated; calculated.”  To ratiocinate, you must develop your critical and logical thinking skills.

Example: In working through my science fiction novel, I have to ratiocinate through the menagerie of characters and situations I’ve created.

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June 18, 2022 · 8:44 PM

Retro Quote – Susan Sontag

“A novel worth reading is an education of the heart.”

Susan Sontag

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June 18, 2022 · 8:40 PM

Word of the Week – June 18, 2022

Esemplastic

[es-em-PLAS-tik]

Adjective

Greek, early 19th century

Molding into one; unifying.

While constructed from Greek root, this word was coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, likely from the German “ineinsbildung,” meaning “forming into one.” The word “esemplastic” can be traced back to a singular source: English poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In his 1817 autobiography, “Biographia Literaria,” he formed the word by combining the Greek phrase “es hen,” meaning “into one,” with “plastic.” This fulfilled his desire for a term that depicted the imagination’s ability to meld vastly different experiences into a unified form — such as crafting various sensations, images, and experiences into a poem.

Example: I always try to relay my work experience to potential employers in an esemplastic manner.

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June 11, 2022 · 5:35 AM

Word of the Week – June 11, 2022

Eudaemonism

[yoo-DEE-mə-niz-əm]

Noun

Greek, early 19th century

A system of ethics that bases moral value on the likelihood of actions producing happiness.

“Eudaemonism” entered English in the 19th century from the Greek “εὐδαιμονία,” meaning happiness, with the suffix “-ism” to indicate a system of belief or practice.  “Eudaemonism” is based on the Greek term “eudaemonia,” introduced by Aristotle.  Aristotle’s “eudaemonia” described the positive condition of doing and living well.  It was not, in fact, a synonym for happiness, but rather it described a greater state of positive existence, which combined wisdom, contemplation, virtue, and other beneficial attributes for personal success.

Example: Through all the anxiety and drama, I detected a true sense of eudaemonism in viewing the opening session of the January 6 Committee hearings.

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June 4, 2022 · 10:05 PM

Word of the Week – June 4, 2022

Conspectus

[kən-SPEK-təs]

Noun

Latin, 1830s

A summary or overview of a subject.

This word stems from the Latin “conspectus,” meaning a “looking at, sight, view; range or power of vision.” It is the noun use of the past participle of “conspicere,” meaning “to look at”, which originates from “specere,” meaning “to look at”.  “Conspectus” sounds like another word that’s more common in modern English: “prospectus.” They also share a Latin root, “specere,” which means “to look at.” But while “conspectus” means an overview of a particular subject, a “prospectus” is “a printed document that advertises or describes a school, commercial enterprise, forthcoming book, etc., in order to attract or inform clients, members, buyers, or investors.”

Example: A conspectus of my work experience helped solidify my credentials for the engineering company.

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May 31, 2022 · 10:18 PM

June 2022 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of June for writers and readers

Audiobook Appreciation Month

GLBT Book Month

  • June 1 – Global Day of Parents; Global Running Day; National Pen Pal Day; National Say Something Nice Day; World Reef Awareness Day
  • June 3 – National Egg Day
  • June 4 – National Cheese Day; National Hug Your Cat Day
  • June 5 – National Cancer Survivor’s Day; National Donut Day; National Gingerbread Day; World Environment Day
  • June 8 – National Best Friend’s Day; World Oceans Day
  • June 10 – Ball Point Pen Day
  • June 11 – Global Wellness Day
  • June 12 – Anne Frank’s Birthday
  • June 14 – Bourbon Day; World Blood Donor Day
  • June 15 – National Photography Day; World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
  • June 16 – Bloomsday (celebration of Irish writer James Joyce’s life); National Fudge Day
  • June 17 –  World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
  • June 19 – Father’s Day (U.S.)
  • June 20 – World Refugee Day
  • June 21 – Summer Solstice (Northern Hemisphere); Winter Solstice (Southern Hemisphere)
  • June 22 – Octavia Butler’s Birthday; World Rainforest Day
  • June 23 – National Hydration Day; Typewriter patent awarded (1868)
  • June 25 – Eric Carle’s Birthday
  • June 27 – Helen Keller’s Birthday; National PTSD Awareness Day
  • June 29 – Hug Holiday; National Camera Day
  • June 30 – National Handshake Day; National Work from Home Day; World Social Media Day

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May 28, 2022 · 5:21 AM

Word of the Week – May 28, 2022

Habile

[HA-bəl]

Adjective

Latin, 15th century

Deft; skillful.

In Latin, “habilis” means something is easily handled. The French word habile means skillful, and we kept that definition in Middle English as well.  Able is the more common word today, but habile remains a particularly skillful word.  In today’s parlance, you’re more likely to use the word able rather than habile.  The pronunciations are somewhat similar, and the meanings are close.  Able implies you have at least the basic ability to do something.  But to be habile is to be quite talented.

Example: I had to explain my habile approach to composing documentation for software development to the project manager.

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May 21, 2022 · 6:59 AM

Word of the Week – May 21, 2022

Metanoia

[me-tə-noi-ə]

Noun

Greek, late 19th century

A transformational change in one’s way of life; a change resulting from repentance and spiritual awareness

Metanoia has sometimes been personified throughout history as a shadowy goddess cloaked in sadness.  She was accompanied by Opportunity, and was known to cause regret for having missed important moments.  Metanoia literally translates to “afterthought.”  The ending -noia has long been associated with thought, as it is in “paranoia,” which are thoughts that don’t reflect reality.

Example: I experienced a moment of metanoia when I decided my opinion of myself mattered more than that of others.

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May 7, 2022 · 7:55 PM

Word of the Week – May 7, 2022

Monopsony

[mə-NAHP-sə-nee]

Noun

Greek, 1930s

Economics – a market situation in which there is only one buyer.  From the Greek suffix “mono” meaning “one” and the Greek “opsōnein,” meaning “buy provisions.”  Monopsony can be easily mistaken with “monopoly,” but they have somewhat inverse definitions.  While a “monopsony” is a fiscal condition in which there is only one buyer of a good or service, a “monopoly” is a situation in which there is only one producer of a good or service.  Economic theory proposes that monopsonies can lead to lower wages for workers because they are paid less than their marginal revenue product.

Example: Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter is proof the ultra-rich have been granted a monopsony over the media by the U.S. Congress.

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