Auscultation

Used in a sentence:

• This auscultation was failing but still she pressed the stethoscope to yet another portion of his chest, this time the left side, only to find yet more unidentifiable crunching sounds.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

This is technically medical jargon but I totally could see working this word into everyday speech. I mean we all carry around a stethoscope in our back pockets just in case… right?

Writing Sessions

Word Count: 1,743

Writing sessions have been going well. I’ve been meeting a one thousand word count pretty regularly. Today I really knocked out my word count which was awesome. Most of that was done in an hour or so. Last session I was joined by Daniel and we discussed how to do some editing, since he has begun editing his NaNoWriMo novel from two years ago.

So I’ve decided that, wherever I go, I’m going to keep the name Anomalous Writing for my writing groups. I’ve decided I really like the name. At the moment I’ve no success in recruiting new members but I”m not sure about how to go about it anyway or if I really want to. But I’ve decided I”ll keep the name.

Everlasting Update

Word Count: 104,873

So today’s scene birthed a new idea. So I’ve been back and forth trying to figure out Everlasting’s technology in regards to paper and writing. For one I know I want them to have an equivalent of a printing press. But I’m enamored with the idea that they still prefer scroll like paper rather than cut sheets. I don’t see why the world can’t have both I suppose, but it is something I need to sit down and research. One device I’ve decided I like is the idea of a re-loadable notepad, called a scrollpad. It’s a small clipboard that can have a cylinder on the bottom which stores a roll of paper (think like a receipt roll). It dispenses the paper up where it is collected at the top. People write their entire notes in a scrolling fashion and when the roll is out, load it back into its case, name it, and store it. Seems rather steampunk right? The clipboard also has an attachment for writing device, and perhaps an extra optics attachment or something. Cause attachments are cool.

Writing Sessions

Word Count: 2,000+

I went to my two writing sessions this week. I didn’t write-up a writing time for either of them because the internet at the establishment I’ve been writing at sucks. I’ve been thinking of changing venues since nobody else is meeting me there anymore. With only one and occasionally two people, coffee shops become far easier to do, and have more reliable internet. My writing sessions have been going well. Hitting one thousand words pretty routinely on everlasting. I haven’t done any Science Future yet because that requires internet research. I’m debating taking a hiatus on it since I find myself feet dragging on doing the research needed and there has been little to no feedback from Escape Pod listeners as to if they appreciate it or care about it. Not sure. Also at some point I need to get free writing started again. Hopefully in February.

Everlasting Update

Word Count: 103,130

Everlasting is going well. I’m getting about half a scene or so done per writing session. I’ve been letting myself dally in description, which has been nice, and helps keep my word count high. I’m seeing problems with my outline and a lack of character growth but I’ve been reminding myself that, once again, that’ll get fixed in editing. Ironically I’m starting to feel like what I am writing now is the actual middle of the book and what I wrote before was just me trying to find my way to the middle of the book, which is sad, since there are so many words there that will likely be cut. But such is writing.

Cadre

Used in a sentence:

• The cadre of the weapon system depended upon people regularly providing both maintenance and bananas.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

So I never really new the meaning of the word cadre, even though I’d heard it before. Usually in context of “An elite cadre of <blah>”. I never would have guessed it meant frame or framework. I always assumed it referred to a group of people in some way, but apparently that was only in a military or communism context.

Ichnogram

Used in a sentence:

• Her ichnogram showed that she preferred stiletto heels for the right foot while wedge heels for the left.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

Want to sound all knowledgy and stuff? Nothing like using a greek compound word for an everyday common word like footprint.

Writing Sessions

Word Count: 1,054

Today’s writing session was significantly less productive. It only took me an hour to write a thousand words but the writing kinda dragged. It took me a little while to get into it. So when I got to my word count I stopped. Why try and force it if I’ve gotten my word count? Speaking of which, I don’t want to spoil it here so read down below.

Everlasting Update

Word Count: 100,711

One hundred thousand words! I have written one hundred thousand words! Woooo! That is WAY TO MUCH! No seriously. For one entire story that isn’t even an epic, I’ve written far too much. So much needs to be cut. I’m almost of the opinion I just need to start over but that’s likely a fallacy. I need to re-read what I’ve written, edit it, glean ideas and perhaps re-write my plot and see what I can save. No point in re-writing if I can just edit it.

Today’s scene was a planning scene. I had a really good section of description which was fun to write but I had to do a bit of editing as I realized I was defining stuff that really needed to be more detail in the next chapter when the people do stuff. I also had to think up some “bad” ideas on the fly for people to reject before they came up with the good idea. Coming up with bad ideas is hard but likely I remembered a Writing Excuses that talked about the concept, which helped me realize what exactly I was and what I needed to be doing.

Writing Sessions

Word Count: 1,907

And we’re back. Again! Okay so way too long between writing session updates. What can I say? Holidays? Sickness. New Routines. Etc. Anyway I started off the new year’s first writing session with a bag. Nineteen thousand nine hundred and seven words on Everlasting. I was just a bit on a roll. Only took me about and hour and a half as well. Perhaps I’m still in NaNoWriMo mode. I’m not sure. I had the “It is okay to suck” mantra in my head today which kept me from going back and look up too much stuff, although I did learn some history about toilets this session. Speaking of toilets.

Everlasting Update

Word Count: 99,657

Yeah. We’re less than four hundred words away from one hundred thousand words. That seems amazing. It is also way too big. I foresee my edits being a huge hack and slash of the plot, when I get to them. Here are a few things I found kind of interesting about getting back to Everlasting after taking such a long time.

1. I was a lot further behind in the plot than I thought I was. Entire sections I thought I had already written were still in the outline waiting to be written. This turned out to be a good thing as it meant I felt like I could “fix them” rather than having to “write them again”
2. Outlines are so awesome. I am totally an outlining person. Being able to see what I had written before as an outline, and what I was supposed to write next, just let me jump right into it without bothering about re-reading too much or forgetting where I was going. Next time I write I’m going to try to fully outline the entire book before I get some serious writing down.

Science Future

There was a Science Future article published last month that I didn’t announce

Science Future: Aggrandize Aptitude

I think this is one of the better ones I’ve done so check it out and tell me what you think. I’m sadly not getting any real commentary on my articles which means I’m probably pushing the mediocre line. Not horrible but nothing awesome either. Or worse, nobody is actually reading it.

Free Write

Free writing is not dead! It is still on hiatus however. With a little luck I’ll get it up and started again next week, appearing Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays, basically on days that I’m not writing my novel or for Science Future.

Anomalous Writing

Well I’m hard pressed to say there is a writing group. It is back to being just me and Daniel. The other writing group that had Ryan and Steph is no longer meeting that I can figure because Steph has a new obligation in her life. While I am still in contact with most everybody through the internet, it is very different from having writing sessions with other people. But I’m writing on my own now so perhaps I no longer need a group for that and should instead look for a critique group. I am not sure and don’t feel like putting for the effort to try to find one physically just yet. Maybe once I’ve done an edit of Everlasting or Werewolf Zombie Steampunk.

Threap

Used in a sentence:

• She threaped with him over the value of the zuz so loudly the zonkey decided to bellow his objections.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

Like how I incorporated multiple weird words in there? Did you understand the sentence? Good for you! Threap seems like a fun word that deserves to be incorporated into modern speech and if you disagree we’ll likely have a threap about it.

Antediluvian

Used in a sentence:

• The car was so antediluvian that he was sure it ran on fossil fuels and probably couldn’t even break the sound barrier.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

I know the word antediluvian primarily from the Vampire roleplaying game produced by White Wolf publishing. Antediluvians were really old vampires. It doesn’t surprise me that the name was taken from the Christian bible.

Facies

Used in a sentence:

• He had facies that suggested that it would not be long before he would be lumbering back up onto his feet with a voracious appetite and a lust for human flesh.

Source: Wiktionary

Commentary:

Primarily used in medicine, I thought this was interesting. It’s a plural noun with no singular form. Like scissors but not like pants, which has a singular form it just isn’t used all that often. I find it amusing that it is a word that effectively means appearance that is so similar to the word face.