Write On! Things Shape Words

“Before the drawing board was invented, what did we have to go back to?”

Our words help date our writing. Concepts have beginning and sometimes ending dates.  Almost the only thing I recall about some movie I saw years ago about a time-traveling kid was him telling the colonial-era girl he was talking to, “ It’s ok, my dad can drive you down to Williamsburg” (or somewhere) and the girl protesting “Am I a cow, that he should DRIVE me?”

If you write in a given historical period, one of the things your editing passes should check for is any turn of phrase that accidentally breaks time frame, or any item, prop, clothing, or legal assumption that does not fit.

Words and ideas are also place- dependent. Perhaps technology has spread worldwide, but cultural assumptions are still very different.

This diary covers some Fascinating cultural differences in swearing

Whereas if you write in a fantasy or future sci-fi world, you may need to invent words for your imagined new items. And human society is bound to have new conventions and terms for them.  (Or non-human society, as the case may be.)

Discussion questions:

If you write in a not-real world, what words have you invented for what things?

If you write historical or present day work, have you needed to edit your descriptions or dialogue for accuracy?

Since this is not easily turned to a challenge, write a brief scene using any three words from this list:

stupefy

heliotrope

obtrusive

amanuensis

foment

weregild

raffish

READERS & BOOK LOVERS SERIES SCHEDULE

DAY	TIME EST/EDT	SERIES	EDITOR(S)
SUNDAY	4:00 PM	Let’s Talk BOOKS	Angela Marx
	6:00 PM	Young People’s Pavilion	The Book Bear
(LAST SUN OF THE MONTH)	7:30 PM	LGBTQ Literature	Chrislove
MONDAY	8:00 PM	The Language of the Night	DrLori
TUESDAY	8:00 PM	Contemporary Fiction Views	bookgirl
	10:00 PM	Nonfiction Views	DebtorsPrison
WEDNESDAY	8:00 PM	Bookchat	cfk et al.
THURSDAY	8:00 PM	Write On!	SensibleShoes
(FIRST THURS OF MONTH)	2:00 PM	Monthly Bookpost	AdmiralNaismith
FRIDAY	7:30 AM	WAYR?	Chitown Kev
(OCCASIONALLY)	8:00 PM	Books Go Boom!	Brecht
	9:30 PM	Classic Poetry Group	Angmar
SATURDAY	Noon	You Can't Read That!    or Paul's Book Reviews	pwoodford
	Noon	Economics Books	Mokurai
	9:00 PM	Books So Bad They’re Good*	Ellid (*on temporary hiatus)