Here's something to spark your Thanksgiving dinner conversation! Palindromes are words or phrases that read the same in both directions, e.g. EYE ,or RACECAR , or MADAM I'M ADAM . Here are a few good ones: Do geese see God? Was it Eliot's toilet I saw? Murder for a jar of red rum. Some men interpret nine memos. Never odd or even. Palindromes have been used for centuries, going back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Here are the top 30 from the website Fun With Words Don't nod Dogma: I am God Never odd or even Too bad – I hid a boot Rats live on no evil star No trace; not one carton Was it Eliot's toilet I saw? Murder for a jar of red rum May a moody baby doom a yam? Go hang a salami; I'm a lasagna hog! Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas! A Toyota! Race fast... safe car: a Toyota Straw? No, too stupid a fad; I put soot on warts Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to...

Word Play Time Again - Writing doesn't always have to be serious. There are ways to make it fun and learn something in the process. That's where Word Play comes in. Today, like every 2nd Tuesday of the month, we at The Blood-Red Pencil do the Word Play thing. I pick out some words and you figure out how to use them in sentences, or parts of a story. Some words  may look alike, but mean something different. Others sound alike, but are spelled differently and also have different meanings. My first choice is DATE. Date - Verb - Going out with someone you do or might care about - She's going out on a date with him? Date - Noun - A time element - What date was that again? Date - Noun - A fruit - That date is kind of sticky. My second choice is ROLL, ROLE Roll - Verb - She knows how to roll with the punches. Roll - Noun - Are you really putting butter on that roll? Roll - Adjective - He did not answer the roll call. Role - Noun - You don't have to play t...

IT'S WORD PLAY TIME! The 2nd Tuesday of the month is Word Play time here at The Blood-Red Pencil. As writers and readers, we enjoy playing with words. Simple exercises like Word Play get our imagination going while we think up examples and have fun in the process. How to Play: It's easy. Just make up a sentence or two, or a phrase, using this month's chosen words. I like to pick words that sound alike, but are spelled differently and have unique meanings. Here are July's Choices: Sleigh - adjective or noun - Think cool and winter - Sleigh bells ring - A vehicle with long blades in the snow, usually driven by horses. Slay - A verb meaning to kill. More Choices: Sleight - He practices sleight of hand - Noun for a trick by magic or otherwise. Slate - Wipe the slate clean - Noun for something like a tablet or recordkeeping instrument. Slate - I've got a slate floor in my hallway - Noun for a kind of tile. Your Turn to Play: ...

Word Play Tuesday - The Second Tuesday of Each Month For the uninitiated, Here's How Word Play works - Today, and every second Tuesday of the month, we play with a chosen word or string of words. I make a choice, offer some uses, then invite you to comment below with a sentence using the word(s) we’re playing with. You can use one of my phrases and expand on it or make up a fresh sentence or paragraph from scratch, but the only rule is to use the monthly word(s). When you comment, if you have a website or blogspot, be sure to include it along with your name, in case someone really likes what you've written and wants to visit you. For June, let's play with triplets . I have two sets in mind. See if you can use some or all of them. Here they are: Do - action verb - Do what you want. Dew - wet stuff on the grass - The dew made the grass slippery. Due - adjective denoting owing - My library book is due. To - preposition - I went to the gym. Two - the number af...

Word Play Tuesday - The Second Tuesday of Each Month Time to Play - Today, and every second Tuesday of the month, we play with a chosen word or string of words. I make a choice, offer some uses, then invite you to comment below with a sentence using the word(s) we’re playing with. If you wish, you can use one of my phrases below and expand on it, or you can make up a sentence or paragraph from scratch, as long as you use the monthly word(s). When you comment, if you have a website or blogspot, be sure to include it along with your name, in case someone really likes what you've written and wants to visit you. May's Word - Spring Again, I've picked a versatile word with many meanings. Here are a few examples of its use: Daffodils are a sign of spring.- A noun denoting a season. The deer drank from the spring. - A noun for outdoor running water. How did that spring come loose? - A noun for a mechanical part. Don't spring that kind of surprise on me. - An acti...

New Monthly Feature – Word Play by Morgan Mandel How to Play Today, and every second Tuesday of the month , we’ll play with a chosen word or string of words. I’ll make a choice, offer some uses, then invite you to comment below with a sentence using the word(s) we’re playing with. If you wish, you can use one of the phrases in my illustrations and expand on it, or you can make up an entire sentence from scratch, as long as you use the monthly word(s). Hopefully, this exercise will inspire us to take a new look at words and use them in fresh and exciting ways. To start with, I've chosen an easy word, but you never know what I might pick next. Be sure to add your name and website or blogspot with your comment, in case someone really likes what you've written and wants to visit you. Also, if you happen to know of an instance in your own novel or someone else’s that illustrates the meaning of the monthly word(s), be sure to mention that as well. April's Word ...