Writing Style Analysis

Average instances of the word "arras" per page:
Most writers - 0
Fred Saberhagen - 38

Q&A Corner

Q. When should I use meed and when should I use guerdon?
A. If you're using either, you no longer care what people think.
Q. I have a similar question about raiment and habiliments.
A. I have a similar answer.

De-Archaisizing

I bet if you throw "erst" in, people will get what it means. I'm starting to think "erstwhile" was a mistake altogether. Let's look for more words of that type to use and stand out thereby.

This Is Why Everyone's Switching to "Redoubt"

We're all sure a fortress isn't a girl fort, but we aren't sure why, are we?

Easy Replacements for Big Flavor

Done: "Dishonest"
Fun: "Soothless"

The True Difference Between Fantasy and Science Fiction

People suffer from a curse in the former, while in the latter, populations exhibit a syndrome. Am I saying it's just the number of syllables? Yes I am.

Addendum

In general, nautical terms suffer from the fact that sailors customarily refuse to line up spelling and pronunciation. "Gunwale" should mean one thing, "gunnel" another, and both should be cool. Well, cool-adjacent; "gunnel" sounds like a low-ranking criminal thug.

Words That Mean Something Less Cool Than They Should Corner

Gunwale.

How to Shake Things Up

Try out these powerful words and phrases you've never seen before:
Willforce
Power of will

Linguistic Shifts

Does anything whizz nowadays? I have the impression things used to whizz constantly, but now they hardly ever whizz. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.

Degrading Appropriation

Gambit used to be a perfectly good word, but now people think of either chess or X-men when they hear it, which is desirable occasionally but not in the majority of circumstances.

Word Instinct

"Orison" looks to me like it should have some kind of engineering meaning. For instance, the counterweight and the sling together of a trebuchet or such should be the orison. And yet, it is not so.

Fantasy Dangers

Watch out, fellas! "Wizened" might not mean what you think it does! Don't use it as a compliment! If you did know, that's just rude, but you may have been justified in saying it. I won't pretend to know the circumstances.

Addendum

I'm not volunteering to murder anyone or to be murdered, but I will contribute by saying, "Gee, I hope they get the guy that did it" when I hear about it. I'll make sure to say "gee," which I generally do not.

The Quintessential Fantasy Reader Experience

Waking up in the middle of the night and thinking, "I don't really know what a madrigal is. I only kinda know." It doesn't have to be "madrigal," but it often is.

The Transformative Power of Fantasy

If it weren't for fantasy, I wouldn't wish we had a lot more terms for "king." Or "prophecy."

A Shared Obligation

If your story doesn't have at least one made-up word in it, how can we make advancements in the language?

A Common Lament

You've been waiting your whole life for a chance to write "orthopraxy," but it just never comes up. What a fallen world is this.

Honest Reflection

When was the last time you used the word "toot?" Don't be ashamed. Just fix it.

The Difference Between Fraternity and Sorority

"Soror" is a dumb word. I don't know what the Romans were thinking with that one. "Frater" is far cooler. You can't say "soror" without its sounding like part of an insult, as in, "my soror was all like sorororor and then I was all like, we're speaking Latin, we don't say 'all like.'"