Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Friday, December 11, 2020
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Monday, August 17, 2020
Friday, August 07, 2020
Friday, July 17, 2020
Monday, July 13, 2020
Monday, July 06, 2020
Friday, July 03, 2020
Robert J. Sawyer and the p-zeds
Oh wow, discovered new Robert J. Sawyer's QUANTUM NIGHT in ebook from library 💟 and am enthralled. Written soon after our last election, this theory of consciousness near future scifi novel explains much about the psychopath we have sitting in the WH, as well as his p-zed followers. Sawyer is one of the best, and Canadian to boot!
Thursday, July 02, 2020
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Sunday, June 07, 2020
Friday, June 05, 2020
Prompts from chapter headings...
Ideas for prompts from chapter headings of
This is how...
If I could...
Everywhere I turn...
Beyond the telling...
Before I die...
Being in time...
Complicated things...
How to empty...
A life of questions...
Inside the darkness...
Near the center...
Giving way...
Of course you can come...
The golden thread...
Instructions to my smaller self...
Inheriting now...
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Literary Terms
Major Literary Terms
allegory
- device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an
abstraction in
addition to the literal meaning
alliteration
- the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more
neighboring words
(e.g., "she sells sea shells")
allusion
- a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly
known, such as an
event, book, myth, place, or work of art
ambiguity
- the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word,
phrase, sentence, or
passage
analogy
- a similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship
between them
antecedent
- the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun
aphorism
- a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or
moral principle
apostrophe
- a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or
a personified
abstraction, such as liberty or love
atmosphere
- the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established
partly by the setting
and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described
clause
- a grammatical unit that contains both a subject and a verb
colloquial
- the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing
conceit
- a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or
surprising analogy between
seemingly dissimilar objects
connotation
- the nonliteral, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested
meaning
denotation
- the strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion,
attitude, or color
diction
- refering to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially
with regard to their
correctness, clearness, or effectiveness
didactic
- from the Greek, literally means "teaching"
euphemism
- from the Greek for "good speech," a more agreeable or less
offensive substitute for a
generally unpleasant word or concept
extended
metaphor - a metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or
throughout a work
figurative
language - writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and
is usually meant to
be imaginative and vivid
figure
of speech - a device used to produce figurative language
generic
conventions - refers to traditions for each genre
genre
- the major category into which a literary work fits (e.g., prose, poetry, and
drama)
homily
- literally "sermon", or any serious talk, speech, or lecture
providing moral or spiritual advice
hyperbole
- a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement
imagery
- the sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion,
or represent
abstractions
infer
(inference) - to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented
invective
- an emotionally violent, verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive
language
irony
- the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant
verbal irony - words literally state the opposite of speaker's true
meaning
situational irony - events turn out the opposite of what was expected
dramatic irony - facts or events are unknown to a character but known
to the reader or audience or
other characters in work
loose
sentence - a type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by
dependent grammatical
units
metaphor
- a figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or
the substitution of
one for the other, suggesting some similarity
metonomy
- from the Greek "changed label", the name of one object is
substituted for that of another
closely associated with it (e.g., "the White House" for the
President)
mood
- grammatically, the verbal units and a speaker's attitude (indicative,
subjunctive, imperative);
literarily, the prevailing atmosphere or emotional aura of a word
narrative
- the telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events
onomatopoeia
- natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words (e.g. buzz, hiss)
oxymoron
- from the Greek for "pointedly foolish," author groups apparently
contradictory terms to suggest
a paradox
paradox
- a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense
but upon closer
inspection contains some degree of truth or validity
parallelism
- from the Greek for "beside one another," the grammatical or
rhetorical framing of words,
phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity
parody
- a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the
specific aim of comic effect
and/or ridicule
pedantic
- an adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly
scholarly, academic, or
bookish
periodic
sentences - a sentence that presents its central meaning in a main clause at
the end
personification
- a figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts,
animals, or
inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions
point
of view - the perspective from which a story is told (first person, third
person omniscient, or third
person limited omniscient)
predicate
adjective - one type of subject complement, an adjective, group of adjectives,
or adjective clause
that follows a linking verb
predicate
nominative - another type of subject complement, a noun, group of nouns, or
noun clause that
renames the subject
prose
- genre including fiction, nonfiction, written in ordinary language
repetition - the duplication, either exact or approximate, of any
element of language
rhetoric
- from the Greek for "orator," the principles governing the art of
writing effectively, eloquently,
and persuasively
rhetorical
modes - the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing
(exposition explains
and analyzes information; argumentation proves validity of an idea;
description re-creates, invents,
or presents a person, place, event or action; narration tells a story
or recount an event)
sarcasm
- from the Greek for "to tear flesh," involves bitter, caustic
language that is meant to hurt or
ridicule someone or something
satire
- a work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and
conventions for reform or
ridicule
semantics
- the branch of linguistics which studies the meaning of words, their
historical and psychological
development (etymology), their connotations, and their relation to one
another
style
- an evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction,
syntax, figurative
language, and other literary devices;
or, classification of authors to a group and comparison of an
author to similar authors
subject
complement - the word or clause that follows a linking verb and complements,
or completes, the
subject of the sentence by either renaming it or describing it
subordinate
clause - contains a subject and verb (like all clauses) but cannot stand
alone; does not express
complete thought
syllogism
- from the Greek for "reckoning together," a deductive system of
formal logic that presents two
premises (first "major," second "minor") that
inevitably lead to a sound conclusion (e.g., All men are
mortal, Socrates is a man, Socrates is mortal)
symbol
(symbolism) - anything that represents or stands for something else (natural,
conventional, literary)
syntax
- the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences
theme
- the central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life
thesis
- in expository writing, the thesis statement is the sentence or group of
sentences that directly express
the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition
tone
- similar to mood, describes the author's attitude toward his material, the
audience, or both
transition
- a word or phrase that links different ideas
understatement
- the ironic minimalizing of fact, presents something as less significant than
it is
wit
- intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights
Poetic Feet
U
- unaccented syllable, A - accented syllable
amphimacer
- AUA
anapest
- UUA
antibacchus
- AAU
bacchius
- UAA
chouambus
- AUUA
dactyl
- AUU
iambus
- UA
pyrrhic
- UU
spondee
- UU
trochee
- AU
breve
- symbol for unstressed syllable
macron
- a "-" symbol to divide syllables
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Wednesday, April 01, 2020
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Monday, March 23, 2020
Finding the right book...
http://inalj.com/?p=65200
These sites have been mentioned in previous posts, but the author here gives very good instructions on how to use each one.
Saturday, March 07, 2020
Thursday, March 05, 2020
Sunday, March 01, 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Friday, February 21, 2020
Monday, February 17, 2020
Friday, February 07, 2020
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Sunday, January 05, 2020
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