Category Archives: Writing

Word of the Day

Lookalikes — Imminent VS. Eminent

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ImageAnother set of vocabulary lookalikes is coming your way.

Imminent [im-uh-nuh nt] (adj.):

1. likely to occur at any moment; impending.

2. projecting or leaning forward; overhanging.

Example:

Robert looked at the shattered glass in the laboratory, surrounded by bio hazard symbols, and knew, right away, that a catastrophe was imminent.

Eminent [em-uh-nuh nt] (adj.):

1. noteworthy, prominent.

2. high in station or rank.

Example:

The leader of the organization gave an eminent speech about the dangers of overpopulation.

Word of the Day

Lookalikes — Desperate Vs. Disparate

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ImageToday, I bring you another set of doppelgangers.

Desperate Vs. Disparate

Desperate [des-per-it, -prit] (adj.):

1. Having an urgent need, desire.

2. Reckless, dangerous because of despair.

Example:

She was so desperate for his attention, she jumped in the pool with her clothes on just so he could glance one more time at her before he walked out of that door.

Disparate [dis-per-it, dih-spar-](adj.):

Distinct, dissimilar, essentially different.

Example:

Their personalities were so disparate, that everyone understood their attraction but nobody could comprehend how they managed to live under one roof.

Word of the Day

Vocabulary Lookalikes — Appraise Vs. Apprise

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The English language has several similarly spelled words which are distant in meaning. Don’t we all get our words confused sometimes? Today’s words are doppelgangers. For the sake of not confusing those two words together, here are their meanings and proper usage.

Appraise Vs. Apprise

Appraise [uh-preyz] (verb):

estimate or determine the worth, importance, or quality of something.

Example:

After she appraised the situation, she decided that the best thing to do was to walk away and never look back.

Apprise [uh-prahyz] (verb):

to give advice; to inform, advise.

Example:

I asked his sister to apprise me of what to get him on Valentine’s Day.

Word of the Day

Word of the Day — Mendacity

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Have you told any lies today? Remember: “if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”

Mendacity [men-das-i-tee] (noun):

1. Untruthfulness, tendency to lie.

2. An instance of lying, falsehood.

Example:

She knew she couldn’t believe someone who had mendacity flowing in his bloodstream. She simply smiled and walked away.

Share an example of the way you would use today’s word.

Musings

Creative Mondays: Compasssion

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My post on Timitude for “Creative Monday’s”. Check it out and follow this inspiring guy!

Timitude

Compassion

Compassion is such an underestimated word. We fail to come to grasps with the gravitational effects a simple word we say, or emotion we emit, can have on someone. We have no shame in calling someone fat, stupid, ugly, or a loser, while we think twice – at least – before we utter a complement.

We are so haste to give our “honest opinion” about a person, that we forget that everyone around us is fighting a tough battle of their own. It’s not until we face the same predicament that we realize how wrong our actions were.

We make and break promises to ourselves not to be rude to people around us anymore. A good way to commit to these promises is by urging ourselves to be nice to balance things out: for every time you hurt someone’s feelings, apologize, and, then, do something nice to someone else.

It…

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Word of the Day

Word of the Day: Iridescent

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ImageToday’s word brings some light and color into those gloomy winter days.

Iridescent [ir-i-des-uh nt] (adj.) or (noun):

displaying a play of lustrous colors, like those of a rainbow.

Example:

His iridescent eyes, like those of a cat, peered at her, luring her to walk toward her own death.

Feel free to submit examples in the comment box. Hope you all had an iridescent Sunday!

Musings, Poems, Published Work

Another Children’s Poem Published

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I just received the good news of having another one of my children’s poems published. I called it Bedtime Hymn, but they changed the title. You can enjoy it here: http://www.childrens-stories.net/poems-and-rhyming-stories/go~to~sleep~my~little~kitten_margaret~benison.htm

There’s a rating button at the bottom of the page. Read, rate, share, repeat…

P.S: Don’t fall asleep just yet!

Musings

Smack my Face with a Brick, Please!

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This funny photo made me think of the vices of writing dialogue. As writers, we tend to dramatize simple sentences, to show off our skills. However, when it comes to dialogue, it’s better to tone down the parade of skills.

Speak in the language of the character. You can’t expect a college professor to use words like “yo'” and “ain’t”; and you can’t expect a man from the wrong side of the streets to speak in the style used in the picture, either.

Even when the sentence in the photo is extremely sophisticated, it does give a clear example of what might go wrong in a dialogue.

What do you think about this photo? Personally, it made me laugh for quite some time!

Musings, Poems, Published Work

Published, Again!

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ImageI’m pleased to receive this piece of news, after having been writing for hours (yes, my hard work is paying off!) . I was published again, and this time it’s a children’s poem. Pretty paradoxical to my previous thriller, I know! You can read it to your little ones, and even enjoy it yourselves.

Just follow the link : http://bedtime.com/The_Tangled_Web_of_Alice_Young.pdf 🙂 🙂

Musings, Published Work

Published!

Link 83 Comments

Published!

My blogger friends, I would like to share with you a piece of great news: I got published!

It had been a long journey for me trying, then giving up, then trying again, leading to this moment. I always felt inferior somehow – that I am incompetent. I felt that not being a native English speaker was disadvantageous for my writing ambitions; so having my English-written story published is major for me. I realize that this may not be huge, still I am optimistic that it is a step in the right direction.

Here’s the link to the thriller: November 13th. Please feel free to read it, share it, and let me know what you think 🙂 🙂

http://www.short-story.me/mystery-stories/597-november-13th.html