Stuff for Writers and Anyone Else

Stuff for Writers and Anyone Else Who Might Be Interested: words and language, grammar and usage, syntax and semantics, punctuation, strong opinions, gratuitous advice, musings, interesting information, funny stuff, rants, hot buttons, horrible examples, and basically anything else that takes my fancy

[writerystuff]

You can figure this out!

[writerystuff]

TIME TO KILL?

Want a vocabulary adventure? Look up trammel. Even if you think you know what it means.

[writerystuff]

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

This morning I ran across the word sturt in a poem by Robert Burns. Like most of us, I have a dictionary in my pocket, so I looked it up. Sturt led me to tribute mining, which led me to stannary, which led me to cassiterite.

Who knew?

[writerystuff]

PREACH IT, BROTHER!

“The habit of reading is the only one I know in which there is no alloy. It lasts when all other pleasures fade. It will be there to support you when all other resources are gone. It will be present to you when the energies of your body have fallen away from you. It will make your hours pleasant to you as long as you live.”

– Anthony Trollope

[bigandlong]

If you see this on your dashboard, reblog this, NO MATTER WHAT and all your dreams and wishes will come true.

[jae-felidae]

Oh hey! Haven’t seen this in forever! Didn’t reblog it when it came across me before, not gonna skip it this time, I need some good vibes.

[phrenic-a]

My favorite fanfic author just updated after a very long hiatus so believe in the magic everyone.

[writerystuff]

Couldn't hurt.

[writerystuff]

Especially a writer's mind.

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NOT ONLY FOR ARTISTS

"In 1930, pioneering archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie published Decorative Patterns of the Ancient World, cataloging over 3,000 ornamental motifs — spirals, animals, rosettes, braids, crosses, and more — drawn from ancient civilizations across Europe and the Near East up to about 1000 AD. The entire book is  free to browse and download on the Internet Archive, making it an incredible reference for artists, designers, crafters, and anyone looking for authentic, copyright‑free historical patterns to use in their work. The simple black‑and‑white line drawings make the motifs easy to trace, digitize, or adapt. Used copies of an out-of-print Dover paperback are also available." (Mark Frauenfelder in Recomendo) 

[writerystuff]

Books We Love

Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.

Find your next read. You can set the year and the genre.

[writerystuff]

GENTLE REMINDER

Clique rhymes with seek

Bade rhymes with mad

Dour rhymes with poor

Err rhymes with purr

[writerystuff]

ADVICE FROM A WRITER

“Writing is a job, a craft, and you learn it by trying to write every day and by facing the page with humility and gall. And you have to love to read books, all kinds of books, good books. You are not looking for anything in particular; you are just letting stuff seep in.”

– Stephen Dobyns

[writerystuff]

Free online version! Five hundred years' worth of definitions for naughty words, slurs, and vulgarisms. Add verisimilitude to your historical romance.

[writerystuff]

Reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%, study finds

Cognitive health in later life is ‘strongly influenced’ by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments, say researchers

I'm not lazy, I'm not idle, I'm not shirking--I'm staving off dementia!

[writerystuff]

Good to know.

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Thank you Jonathan

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I'm iced in, can't go anywhere. It's just awful ;)

[writerystuff]

Librarians should rule the world.

[writerystuff]

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