Katherine

@Ethryndal You are too kind 😀 I still don’t disagree you two (the whole thing was rushed, given too much attention, etc.), and am in general far more fond of Fili, Bilbo, and Thorin.

@dragon-snapper @perfectfifths The quote’s from M.W. Smith in 1889 😀 Even back then people were complaining about vocabulary reduction!

@Overcomer I’m so sorry to hear that. Your family will definitely be in my prayers.

@Daeus This actually isn’t Fidelyon (though I’ve already filled out a similar outline of Fidelyon, with the theme being identity, and the focusing question being ‘of what does a man’s worth consist’).

The homework above is for a futuristic trilogy I’m working on where the MC goes through disillusionment arc on how things don’t always end well (at…[Read more]

@aratrea

The theme is the one thing I’m not quite sure about. The idea is that man cannot succeed on his own. Man is finite and there is a limit to what he can do and know – as compared to God, who is infinite, and in Whom true success and final victory lies. Themes themselves are naturally broad, but I’m thinking I might be able to focus mine…[Read more]

@aratrea

Story: Lord of the Rings

Theme: Hope and Perseverance

Focusing Question: Is there ever a time one is justified in giving up?

Message: One must fight and persevere through every darkness, doing what one can whether there is hope or not.

I have a feeling there is probably more themes in LotR, but those are the main ones that I think…[Read more]

Theme: Finite ability of man

Focusing question: What constitutes success?

Possible answers:
a. Protection of loved ones
b. Personal power
c. Survival
d. Memorable acts
e. Relationship with God

Message: Success is not measured by if we win or lose earthly battles, but rather in our relationship with God.

@Aratrea
@Daeus

@aratrea Theme is exciting because it is the life of the story; the reason the story exists. It can be woven in so subtly and exploration of a theme can go in so many directions. I am always excited when I find books that are exciting and yet present a message or prompt thought-provoking questions without shoving the morals down your throat, and…[Read more]

A better understanding of how to create and fully develop themes. And to just understand themes in general. I’ll figure out a basic theme and message, but when it comes time to untangle all the fine points of the theme and work it into the story, it can become a confused mess.

Welcome @Gabriellemassman! 😀 Glad to have you here!

@sierra I have no idea, but that reminds me of something; I found an online app that you can paste your writing into and it’ll show you words that are passive voice, rather than active, complicated words that have simpler ones of the same meaning, and sentences that are hard and difficult to read (so, two levels) So I did that, and was shocked to…[Read more]

@Ethryndal You’ve probably already lost all vestiges of respect for me by now, but I just wanted you to know I painted that starlight quote and hung it on my wall.

Here’s a fun one that I missed: terpsichorean. Of or relating to dancing 😀

And on a rather unrelated note, can anyone guess when this quote on vocabulary was written? No cheating! 🙂

“The vocabularies of the majority of high-school pupils are amazingly small. I always try to use simple English, and yet I have talked to classes when quite a m…[Read more]

@kate-flournoy I took a look at the list of the hardest words on the test (http://testyourvocab.com/hard), and apparently they only occur in English less than 3 times per hundred million words. So you’re absolutely right, no one should be taking this too seriously.

Glad you’re all having fun with this 🙂 *applauds @northerner respectfully*

My vocabulary’s apparently grown since I took this test last year and I now average at around 29,000.

I got 24,400… sorta surprised. I thought I’d do better than that, but, I did get a higher score than @daeus, soooooo I guess I’ll be content with that. 😉 (…assuming you actually did get 21,400, which, frankly, I’m not buying it)

@dragon-snapper Methinks it doth sound like a great challenge! So when thou posteths ye newe word, thou must also posteth ye definition thereof?

I got an estimated 21,900 words. To be honest, I thought I’d do quite well (I am a wordy person) 😛 but I was surprised how many words there were that I didn’t know! Anyways, that was an interesting test to take; thanks for sharing, Sierra 😀