I (Heart) the Descriptionary!

November 01, 2011

This morning, at 6:15 AM, my eyes popped open and I cried, "NaNoWriMo!"

Of course, I made the obligatory rounds. I called my groggy mother who said, "That's nice dear." I texted all of my fellow WriMo friends to encourage them, and I got on Facebook and spammed those who were smart enough not to give me their phone numbers. I am PUMPED! I am READY! I am... PREPARED? Not so much.

Thank the Writing Muses for the library, am I right? For whatever reason, I decided I should write steampunk this year. Because I'm a huge fan of the genre? Er, very limited exposure. Because I know so much about the Victorian era? Um... No. It's because you think clockwork and handmade steampunk costumes are cool, isn't it, Mariah? Ding ding ding!

So, when I say I need the library, I NEED the library. In my hallway, in a neat little row (er, messy pile), are some fantastic books I checked out on the Victorian era, and I can't wait to attend a write-in at one of the branches so other WriMos will say, "Go! Go! Go! You can do it!" But, my best friend in the whole wide world is the Descriptionary which is part of our Writer's Reference Center! Getting there is a breeze. Once you enter the Writer's Reference Center database, look for the link to the Descriptionary under the heading Writer's Reference Shelf.

Fellow WriMos, writers not insane enough to take on the novel-in-a-month challenge, and curious on lookers: the Descriptionary has got to be the most marvelous writing tool ever devised! In a nutshell, this gem helps those of us who are passionate about what we're writing, but perhaps are lacking in the specialized vocabulary necessary to really bring our scenes to life.

If you find yourself typing away at your scene and you get to those brilliant windows, so real in your mind that you can almost see them, and all you can think to write is, "They are... made... of... glass." then the Descriptionary is for you! Wow your readers with words like "bar tracery" and "camber window". The Descriptionary doesn't just cover architecture either. Find terminology for animals, clothing, furniture, sports, transportation and so much more!

Good luck to everyone doing NaNoWriMo this year and remember, MCPL has your back!

Mariah H.
Reference Resources