avatarPaul Mansfield

Summary

The website content outlines a weekly writing challenge focused on incorporating specific words from other authors into a new fictional story of exactly 100 words.

Abstract

The webpage introduces the "Weekly Prompt: The Word is the Story," which is part of a series of challenges for July themed "Expand Your Vocabulary." Participants are encouraged to use words created or popularized by other authors, such as "Grok," "Bellyfeel," "Jabberwocky," and "Granfalloon," in a 100-word fictional story. The challenge requires that the chosen word is integral to the narrative and that the story adheres to specific guidelines, including the use of "theft" as a tag. An example is provided using the word "tintinnabulation," originally coined by Edgar Allan Poe, with an excerpt from his poem "The Bells" to illustrate the concept.

Opinions

  • The author of the challenge expresses a preference for the word "Grok," indicating a personal connection or appreciation for this particular neologism.
  • The challenge is designed to be both educational and creative, encouraging writers to explore and integrate uncommon vocabulary into their work.
  • The use of "theft" as a required tag suggests a playful acknowledgment of the borrowing nature of the exercise, framing it as a creative homage rather than actual plagiarism.
  • The author emphasizes the importance of using the chosen word in a way that is true to its original meaning and context, as intended by the original author.
  • The inclusion of an example with Edgar Allan Poe's "tintinnabulation" demonstrates the author's view that even a single word can evoke a rich sensory experience and contribute significantly to the atmosphere of a story.

Weekly Prompt

Weekly Prompt: The Word is the Story

Stealing other authors’ words

Photo by Ugur Akdemir on Unsplash

Welcome to the second weekly challenge for July, where the theme is Expand Your Vocabulary.

Last week, we looked at other languages, and the week before, Olde English.

This week we are diving into the vocabulary of other authors. Famous authors. Influential authors (other than myself). According to my buddy, Google, words created for your own purposes are called neologisms. Fox Kerry, a frequent Microcosm author, does this in many of his works. We aren't making up our own words, but are using the famous/infamous words of other authors.

For our challenge this week, I am going to cherry-pick some of these words from other authors, and you are going to write a story where the word is indispensable in the telling of the story.

Challenge Requirements

Your story must:

  1. Use at least one of the following words as the original author intended Grok Bellyfeel Jabberwocky Granfalloon
  2. Be exactly 100 words long, excluding the title, subtitle, and any post-story bio/links. (We use Medium’s own word count feature.)
  3. Be fictional, even if it includes factual information or concerns.
  4. Use “theft” as one of your five tags.

Challenge Example

As with last week, for an example of the challenge, I choose a word NOT on the list (and not my favorite, either. Grok is my fav.) — tintinnabulation

Tintinnabulation is the joyous sound made by silver bells as they ring out and was created by Edgar Allan Poe in his poem The Bells.

Hear the sledges with the bells — Silver bells! What a world of merriment their melody foretells! How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, In the icy air of night! While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens, seem to twinkle With a crystalline delight; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, To the tintinabulation that so musically wells From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells — From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

excerpt from The Bells, Edgar Allan Poe

You may not understand what the words mean right now, but Google is your friend.

Writing Prompts
Theft
Fiction
Short Story
Writing
Recommended from ReadMedium
avatarAnnie Trevaskis
The Plug Dilemma and Other Childhood Misunderstandings

My broken memoir continues . . .

4 min read
avatarSteve
The Use of a Typewriter

And warnings of advancing technology

3 min read
avatarC. L. Nichols, Author
From Page to Reality: Using Fiction Writing Techniques to Improve Real-Life Relationships

The methods writers use to create fictional relationships can improve our connections with the people around us.

7 min read
avatarPraise Frank
Self Study III

A poem

2 min read
avatarJay C Wells
Prompting Problems with Prompts

The MacGuyver approach for writing prompts.

5 min read
avatarLaini Taylor
The writing exercise that made my career

If you’re not doing writing exercises, you probably haven’t discovered your best — and weirdest — ideas.

9 min read