WORDS!

Having Halloween withdrawals. Just can't phase into a new month. I mean we're about to go into the dullest part of the year. Trees become naked, and the sky usually becomes gray. November in the mid-west, esp. northern Illinois, is the ugliest month, aside from March--which is opposite it on the caledar--we have to go through.

So, I thought to keep people's mind active--because we all go into the doldrums as humans during this time of year--I'd post something new, until I run out of these little gems.

WORDS
Why? I'll tell you why.

Okay, let's say you are at your computer, typing along on your current story, and you need a word. Not just any old word, either. This is a special word. It's one you don't see often, and you're not sure how to spell it. You try looking it up in your dictionary. Can't find it. You try using your word check on your computer, and even it is no help—because you are no where near being correct.

What do you do? Where do you look?

I've been down this road way too many times. I'm not good at spelling. In fact in high school I was pretty lousy at spelling and got very bad grades in English. Unless you are a better student at English than I was, you have no trouble spelling words like kamikaze, sepulchral, or kaleidoscope, you won't need to read any further. I give you leave. Unless you do find some words that give you a little trouble once in a great while, read on my gentle readers, and fellow writers. Read on.

For those of you who are not great at spelling—I have become much better than I was back in high school (yes, there is hope for you, too, just like in anything you do over and over again, you will learn how to spell words that give you grief, eventually), you may want to check in weekly for this post. I will give you several unusual words that might give you problems. These will be posted here, but also, I will add these to a side bar with the picture of the neon WORDS so that you may write them down without going through all the past posts of “Words”, should you pick up on this later.

Another little hint I will pass along to help you: keep a notebook beside you—doesn't have to be a large one, something about 3”x 5”--when you read a novel (or any book, really), and you come across a word you never knew how to spell, but golly, it would be nice to know how to if you ever want to use it. So, in your little notebook, jot the special word(s) down. I've collected a lot of words, but eventually, once the computers began spelling for me, I didn't need the large notebook any more. But I do need a small one. I even keep it on my computer and open it now and then.

Now for the WORDS of the week.

How many of you know how to spell that noise you make with your tongue against the teeth when your exasperated with someone, or something?

tsk

I found it in a Sherrilyn Kenyon book (and couldn't find it again until I read through a goodly portion of it!)

I had difficulty finding the word kamikaze, too. I mean wow. You don't come across it much, do you?

Then another one that will make yo scratch your head and you will not be able to use your spell check:

Fu Manchu(as in mustache)

There, now you have three new words that you may not have known how to spell. I will add to this list on a weekly bases, until I run out of words.
And here is one for those of you working on vampire novels:
pheromones
this is any chemical substance released by an animal that serves to influence the physiology of behavior of other members of the same species.

Are there certain words that really make you nuts and you can't find anywhere? If you have suggestions, or have a word that has given you problems, please leave them in comment section. I love when people share with me.