Stewing

Isn't STEW the funniest word?
My mother used it all the time. 

Recently, I realized I'd used WORRY twice in the same paragraph of dialog. 
The character is a woman, a grandmother, who could well have been a contemporary of my mother's. I grabbed my handy Flip Dictionary and looked for another word.

I couldn't believe it. STEW was listed as a synonym for worry. And it wasn't even a southern list of words. It didn't mention how old-fashioned it is.

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Today I happened upon this excellent article I'd saved to read "later"- when I had time to savor it. 
So much good writing advice to think about.

Like this, from Stephen King's book ON WRITING:

A book won't stand or fall on the very first line of prose -- the story has got to be there, and that's the real work. And yet a really good first line can do so much to establish that crucial sense of voice -- it's the first thing that acquaints you, that makes you eager, that starts to enlist you for the long haul. So there's incredible power in it, when you say, come in here. You want to know about this. And someone begins to listen.

And lo and behold, there's my word STEW. From Mohsin Hamid, author of How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. Talking about walking.

My head cleared. My energy soared. My neck pains diminished. Sometimes I texted myself ideas, sentences, entire paragraphs as I walked. Other times I just floated along, arms at my sides, stewing and filtering and looking.

(I know what he means. I often STEW over ideas while driving. Not the smartest of moves if you're in traffic...)

Now I'm sure I'll find it every time I open something. It's a fine word, stew.
And I'm not about to stew over kids today not knowing what it means. When I put my earlier blogpost on Facebook and Twitter, about the irony of finding STEW when I looked up worry, a teacher commented that she loved finding words kids might not know, challenging them to figure them out. I totally agree!
Let's hear it for new/ old words!

Have you run across an old friend in the word department lately? Did you add it to your writing?

Working Space

I do not like a cluttered work space. 
Or a noisy one.
Or one right next to the laundry room.
(But that's another story.)

But sometimes you just have to spread everything out and make a mess.
After today, I'm cleaning up and putting away. But for now, here's a little corner of my desk. 
I'm working hard. ➜➜➜➜➜



I couldn't do it without my absolute favorite book for words.

FLIP DICTIONARY.

Just now I went to look up a synonym for worry.
Guess what was in the list.

STEW. And STEW OVER.

One of my mother's favorite words.
As in, You Don't Need to Stew Over This Revision.

(She'd be wrong about that.)

I'm smiling to think that a Writer's Digest Press book as often-used as the FLIP DICTIONARY recognizes a word I love.

Now I have to decide if I put it into a middle-grade novel, will there be a kid reader in today's world who has ever stewed over anything? 

Here's an earlier post where I'll tell you even more about FLIP DICTIONARY.
Click on over and read about Back-to-School supplies, with a great comment, too. 

Feel free to let me know if you have any other Tools of the Trade you can't live without.

Back-to-work Supplies

I spent most of my career living life on a September to June schedule. Yes, I was a school librarian.

So even now, September seems like a new beginning. When I see moms with those lists and kids gleefully choosing notebooks, pencil boxes, just the right markers and themed binders, I feel an overwhelming need to purchase some paperclips. Or at least a new red pen.

Today's post from a Facebook friend about her Top Ten Writing Tools of the Trade inspired me. Since I agree with many of her top ten, I'll let you click over there and won't repeat. HOWEVER, one of her top ten may be something the rest of the writing world hasn't discovered. So I'll share right here.

And since I can't say it any better than she did, I'll just quote her word for word:

 FLIP DICTIONARY.  It’s not a thesaurus—exactly—but it’s similar, kinda.  It will help you find the term or word that’s eluding you.  It might even get you thinking of a whole new story to tell.  I just can’t emphasize how totally awesome it is.



I found out about this Flip Dictionary from another writer.
Sometimes a writer friend gives you a gift and never realizes how much you appreciate it. So all these years after she told me about this book, I'd like to say thank you to Selene Castrovilla.

I met Selene at a New School class we took together and again at a terrific Highlights Founders weekend. I still remember her holding up her very obviously loved Flip Dictionary and sharing it with the Highlights group.

So my Top Ten Tools of the Trade would include my trusty Flip Dictionary, my absolute favorite colored paperclips (Thanks, Teddie!), my Office Depot black pens (cheap and good- often oxymorons), my collection of writing books (though I'm thinking I should move away from the craft books and just start revising already?).

And one more writing tool that I don't think I could live without. Truly. And anybody who reads my blog knows what I'm about to say. Yeah, that's it. SCRIVENER. Yes, I'm a broken record (does anybody even say that anymore??) on this one. But I'm not sure I can write another novel without my trusty Scrivener software. I know I don't want to try.

Does September seem like a new beginning? Are you ready with your writing tools?