The Writing Pages

French, Latin or even Russian words used in English Literature have often confused and troubled me, thus compelling me to research and find their meanings. For you convenience here is a list of ten most commonly used foreign words:

1. au fait (French): having a good or detailed knowledge

2. bona fide (Latin): genuine; real

3. carte blanche (French): complete freedom to act as one wishes

4. de facto (Latin): in fact, whether by right or not

5. déjà vu (French): the sense of having experienced the present situation before

6. prima facie (Latin): accepted as so until proved otherwise

7. faux pas (French): an embarrassing blunder or indiscretion

8. joie de vivre (French): exuberant enjoyment of life

9. haute couture ((French): the designing and making of clothes by leading fashion houses

10. grande dame (French): a woman who is influential within a particular sphere

There has always been a dispute over which is the longest novel in English Literature. Different researchers and critics have always taken different names. However, today I bring before you an easy access to whoever is intrigued by the mystery of the longest novel in literature!!

After a lot of research, my work bore fruit for I found a fabulous guide to all the longest novels from around the world.

Who hasn’t heard of Wikipedia? Every internet user, avid or immature, certainly knows what Wikipedia is. And if you do not (:gasp:), please click HERE.

So, as I was telling you, Wikipedia came to my help again. It is there where I found a list of all the longest novels in the world.

Did you know Wikipedia had a whole page dedicated to it? I’m sure you did not so here’s why I am sharing it with you!

Here is an extract from the page:

Like determining the list of tallest buildings, figuring the list of longest novels would yield different results depending on what criteria are used.

While word and character figures are common standard, word and character become interchangeable depending on the language used. In alphabetic writing, several letters are combined to make a syllable, which are combined to make a word. In the Korean language, each letter expresses one syllable, significantly reducing the number of letters needed to express one word. Japanese, borrowing its word roots in part from Chinese, uses a combination of ideographs combined with syllabic symbols for inflection.

Rome was not built in a day, and so is your work. A good piece of writing cannot be written on first attempt.

As I have always been telling my readers, constant practice and writing is the only key to a successful writer.

Just yesterday, my friend asked me, "You always keep telling me to write. But HOW MUCH do I write?". This got me thinking.

What I do is follow a plan. In the beginning of the year, I set an objective for my writing. I fix a goal to finish three good pieces of my personal writing each week. It keeps me busy in my leisure time and also helps me improve my writing skills.

One can plan as he/she wishes and is suitable for him/her. If you are not too busy to devote much time, you can fix a goal of finishing five pieces a week. Or you can settle down on a monthly basis, of finishing thirty to fifty pages of your novel or anything you wish. Even making a yearly plan comes in handy to our busy-bees.

The first thing to get down to is to make the plan or objective. While doing so, keep in mind what you write, how and when. Remember how much time you can devote each day and find a suitable goal.

But the most important part of this is to stick to you timetable. No use making overambitious plans and goals just to build castles in the air!

Just try my idea once and share the result with me here. I'd be glad to hear the pros or cons.

The comment section awaits you :)

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While surfing the net, I recently came across the world's longest poem.

Whether it be a webpage, a book, a short story or even business articles- first impressions are often made on the creativity of the titles. And as they say, first impressions are the best impressions.

Whatever you do, please understand that titles hook the reader. If surfing the net, the reader will not waste time on a title that reads Harry Potter but something that says, Harry Potter- the 8^th Part! Everyone knows that there is no further sequel so the reader will be intrigued to read on.

Thus stands the creativity of the author in writing titles. Finding a creative and suitable title is pretty much a skill in itself.

Finished with a story and still confused about a suitable heading? This is a very common problem for me. So today I decided to share some tips with you that I prefer using when trapped in such a mess.

Usually, I read my write-up at at least thrice. It acts as a good revision, and along with, some lines or a phrase may strike you as a suitable title.

Be as tangy, wild and imaginative as possible. Go out to a garden, look around…..and who knows? But if yours is a moral article, often age old phrases are best preferred.

If nothing strikes you then too, then it is better to give your brain some rest and leave it alone for a day or two. Read your story again after a day and something is sure to thump you.

It’s often better to take help from friends. They might strike on the magic word you’ve been missing.

Or better, I’ve recently found many a sites for writing prompts which provide you with suitable headings based on which you form a story. I often use Serendipitous Story Title Generator or Title-O-Matic for this purpose

I hope these help! Do share your views and ideas.

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You might have often been intrigued by many  phrases. But ever wondered what was the tale behind their origin? I went on a searching spree and discovered some interesting origins of phrases, that you might never have thought of. So keep guessing while you read!

Raining Cats And Dogs

This means raining very heavily Though the origin is still controversial, some say that the abominable drainage system of buildings in the 15th century caused drains to run over, emitting out garbage and a few unanticipated rubbish. Thus, animals might have lived in the thatched roofs and when it rained heavily, the dead remains would fall! And maybe some even had some dead dogs and cats hit their heads, thus giving birth to the phrase. Anyways, this certainly is a strange way to describe the weather, eh?

Fit to be tied

It means being furious. This phrase originated when the practice of tying irrepressible and often hazardous people was followed.

Wing and a prayer

It refers to being hopeful but unlikely to succeed. It originated during the First World War, celebrating the return of an American Flyer who came back safely in spite of a badly injured wing.

Pass the buck

It refers to passing off responsibility to someone else. It originated from a game of cards. A marker known as a buck is used in card games to mark the player who is the existing dealer. When the buck is passed to the next player, the responsibility for dealing is passed.

Stink to high heaven

It means to have a very strong odor. This expression originated from the well-known Shakespearean play 'Hamlet'. From a dialogue uttered by Hamlet's Uncle, the King of Denmark - "O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon it, A brother's murder."

Face the music

It refers to accepting the truth. It originated from the British Military practice of playing the drums when someone was court marshaled.

I have a bone to pick with you

Which means, I have an unpleasant matter to settle with you. It is believed to have originated when at the marriage banquets of the Sicilian poor, the bride's father, after the meal, used to hand the bridegroom a bone, saying, "Pick this bone, for you have taken in hand a much harder task." Another origin might be from the British where a bone to pick was a profitable appointment given to a difficult opponent in order to silence him. The reference is to throwing a bone to a dog to keep him from barking at you.

To read more origins of phrases, the best site I can suggest is "The Phrase Finder". Do read many more phrases and any more interesting information regarding their origins, is welcome. So all game to share your knowledge with me through comments? Any additions to the list are welcome!

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Since my exams are over, I am now freely indulging myself into new books and have recently finished reading Dan Brown's prequel to The Da Vinci Code- Angels and Demons. And oh my! It certainly was an exhilarating read.

I'm an avid Dan Brown fan now, after reading all four of his books. Though his books are controversial, I tell you....they are certainly worth a read. The science fiction is stupefying as usual and so is the mystery. Angels And Demons is the first adventure of the Harvard Symbiologist (professor of religious iconology and art history at Harvard University), Robert Langdon.

Robert, receives the most peculiar call in the middle of the night from Maximilian Kohler. Kohler is the director of CERN, the world's largest scientific research facility in Geneva, Switzerland. Langdon has a rapid trip to Geneva on his call which he hoped would be over soon....but one knows that a call from the director that too at the dead of the night cannot be just-so-usual!

Reaching CERN's mesmerizing premises, he learns that one of their top physicists had been murdered, with his chest branded with the word "Illuminati." Since Langdon is an expert on the ancient secret society known as the Illuminati, he's asked to help solve the murder. And as the mystery unfold, with unexpected twists and turns, it takes you on the most exciting and blood curdling tour of the modern world.

All packed with loads of action with the antimatter bomb and a lady like Vittoria Vetra, with the Vatican City at stake....there's not time to loose as Langdon and Vetra get head deep into the search of the old unforgettable Satanist cult, Illuminati and unveil an astounding story!

The four cardinals,(the most worthy predecessors of the Pope whose recent death brought forth the conclave to choose a new pope), are kidnapped and missing. The Illuminati phones and tells them that they have four hours until midnight before the antimatter explodes and destroys the City and each cardinal would be branded and killed in the four sacred Illuminati churches and branded with the Illuminati symbols on their chest.

The fate of the Vatican, the cardinals and CERN....all lies in the hands of the two, Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra. Will they be able to save the place in time? Will they succeed??

I tell you guys....you should read the book. This is one of the best thrillers I have read, where scientific matters are explained in such a way that even laymen can understand. As Dale Brown says, ANGELS & DEMONS IS ONE HELL OF A BOOK.

A not- to -miss suspense and watch your heart beat grow crazier with every page turned.

But that is what I have found. What about you?

While browsing through the net to provide my readers with something interesting, one of the posts on Writers Digest caught my attention.

Writers Digest as it's description says- Write Better Get Published, is a wonderful writing site that will interest every amateur and budding writer. Along with giving valuable tips to young writers to help them enhance their writing, it also gives professionals an opportunity to help them get published.

One of the posts, Sub-Genre Descriptions is really very interesting, so I thought I'd share an extract of it with you too.

The Horror section particularly interested me.

according to the Wikipedia. Thus today, I share with you the definitions/descriptions of some commonly used terms in the genre of horror fiction.

Dark Mystery/Noir:inspired by hardboiled detective tales, set in an urban underworld of crime and moral ambiguity.

Gothic:a traditional form depicting the encroachment of the Middle Ages upon the 18th century Enlightenment, filled with images of decay and ruin, and episodes of imprisonment and persecution.

Hauntings:a classic form centering on possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, particularly of some sort of structure.

Magical Realism:a genre inspired by Latin-American authors, in which extraordinary forces or creatures pop into otherwise normal, real-life settings.

Science-Fiction Horror:SF with a darker, more violent twist, often revolving around alien invasions, mad scientists, or experiments gone wrong.

Weird Tales:inspired by the magazine of the same name, a more traditional form featuring strange and uncanny events (Twilight Zone).

If you enjoyed this extract, pay a visit to the site, Writers Digest, to read more of these Sub-Genres and I'm certain you'll enjoy them!

Vocabulary plays the principle role in helping you emote your expressions on paper. It certainly plays a pivotal role in building up a good and interesting piece on paper.

But it certainly is a tension….thesaurus and dictionaries do help you and can remain with you forever but will it not be more prudent of you to develop a good vocabulary and leave an indelible impression about your character to a person you talk??

So today I have some places on the World Wide Web which might help you improve you vocabulary. And please remember to drop back here and give me feedbacks too…..so here you go.

Write101.com is an interesting read which gives you links for the fastest ways to improve your word power and also tells you why it is necessary. There are some links at the end of this page which one might find really useful.

An excellent page which might help you is GRE Vocabulary Builder which might really play a key role in helping you qualify!

Another page which gives you information bout the tools you can use to improve is Improve Vocabulary. This is a page about how you can improve your vocabulary to talk smart! You surely cannot miss this one.

Also check out the post Power Words which certainly qualifies for an interesting read.

Links of some other helpful places of the site are here:

Vocabulary Software

Vocabulary Builder

Ultimate Vocabulary Review


Power Vocabulary Builder

Word Smart Review

Hope you all can benefit from browsing through this wonderful site.

Surfing the net has many useful results for me. Recently, I stumbled upon a very interesting website. All amateur and young writers like me, glance up and cross your hands!

Have you ever been out of ideas?? Especially for young ones like me....who suddnely loose out on what to write! But not anymore! For there is a website, ABCTEACH, which offers great and interesting writing prompt for kids and others. These prompts will certainly stimulate your brain cells and you'll come out with interesting results! For the prompts, click here.

Another site, Tooter4Kids has interesting writing prompts for us on a daily basis. You get prompts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday……and every other day of the week, that also for every month. The prompts are such that they will compel you to churn your grey cells, if not force you to pick up the pen. To visit, click here.

So go, get a pen and sheet and put on your thinking caps…..

I have stumbled upon a writing blog afresh and here I share it with you. “Literary Jewels”, is another wonderful literary blog that you can visit and enjoy. The author of this blog is an Indian student, Amritbir Kaur.

It is a fabulous blog related to all kind of literary information and knowledge one needs. The author describes it as, “a creative insight into the world of literature. It is about the jewels of literature - fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and much more. I have attempted to interpret literature from my point of view. It also contains my little ramblings about general topics related to life.”

The blog has a vast range of topics to choose from and the author presents posts in a creative and unique manner. The quotes widget on the top will certainly enlighten your day as you go for a read. The articles written by the author have a unique charm and display abounding dexterity on her part.

One of her personal posts, Of Childhood, is a well framed article with smooth flow of words. The quotes perceived there are also a treat to the mind. The blog can give you interesting articles on many authors like, George Eliot, J.K Rowling, John Keats, John Grisham, T.S Eliot, Wordsworth, William Blake and many more.

One of the interesting posts that I found was Bill Gates’s Quotes, which has many witty anecdotes by the successful millionaire. Another good post is the latest one, Shakespeare’s Grave. All posts are an abode of good words, quotes and interesting views and information.

In the end, all I can say is Literary Jewels is certainly a dazzling jewel among the million others!

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There must be plenty of instances when you got stuck while writing because you could not find the right word. Yes, you knew it....you knew it...but you were not getting ! Or maybe you knew a similar word but not the exact word which could depict your feeling. I have passed through these situations many a times but not now!

Rhymezone has an an excellent online tool for this purpose. It can be found here. It is really useful for all writers and bloggers. I use it extensively. It is used for finding the best suitable word in the fastest possible way.

You can use it to help yourself in writing a poem, lyrics of a song, cards, papers, and anything else. You can use it to discover associations between words. You can use it to find the correct spelling of a word you are not sure about. You can use it as a launch pad for finding pictures, credentials, and other multimedia items related to a particular thought that you are writing about. Finally, you can use it to see how your word is used in the framework of famous quotes, poems, and plays.

According to the instructions given at RhymeZone, type a word into the box provided, select a function in the drop-down list next to the box, and then hit "Go get it!" to view the results. Here are the different functions that you can select from that drop-down list:

• Find rhymes
• Find synonyms
• Find anonyms
• Find definition
• Find homophones
• Find similar sounding words
• Match consonants
• Find related words
• Find similar spellings
• Match these letters

Hope this post helps you in finding your required words easily. Do tell me if this helped you or not!