Category Archive

Words—if you’re a writer, you love them. You NEED them. They’re our story building blocks.

I love the sound of certain words, the way they slide off the tongue. My book ABSURD WORDS began when I ran across the word “archipelago”. I stopped reading, transfixed by the exotic and lovely term for an island chain. I wrote it down…and my “favorite word list” began.

Whenever I read a fantastic word, in a crossword puzzle, novel, or news article, I wrote it down. When I heard it in a movie, TV show, or YouTube video, I wrote it down. I wanted to keep the good words close.

Since the Internet loves a list, I slapped the words on this website. Then when the list became the most heavily-accessed page on this site, I pitched my agent the concept for ABSURD WORDS.

I know, it’s not a picture book. A picture book brimming with substantial words isn’t fit for the age group. However, a wondrous word on its own can conjure up ideas for marvelous picture book stories!

Let’s go back to “archipelago”. This word was featured in the Christmas stop-motion classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to describe the location of The Island of Misfit Toys.

Toys! Misfits! On an island far away! Longing for a child to love them! Did all these ideas originate with the word “archipelago”? Maybe???

I don’t shy away from using difficult words in my picture books, as long as I use them sparingly and in context so their meaning can be sussed out. But I’m not suggesting you just slip “labyrinth” into your story—I am encouraging you to begin with “labyrinth” to discover where it leads. What ideas spring forth? Children love secretive places about which adults are clueless—so where does your “labyrinth” story go?

I’ve got more words to love!

• zhuzh
• scrumble
• derring-do
• sardoodledom
• swellhead
• finicky
• pareidolia
• gravitas
• moonbow
• fiddlesticks
• galactico
• jimberjawed
• shackbaggerly
• soliloquy
• nonuplets
• cahoots
• sticktoitiveness
• againwend
• flipperling

Plus, of course, the entire original list!

But you don’t necessarily need my lists. Think of your favorite word as a jump-start. Thumb through a dictionary. Devour a thesaurus.

Words can take us (and our readers) anywhere we want to go!

Tara Lazar is giving away a fiction picture book critique to one lucky Storystorm winner.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2024 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

It all began with “archipelago.”

You remember “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” right? The stop-motion animation special remains a beloved holiday favorite. If you recall, the Island of Misfit Toys existed in a far-off ARCHIPELAGO, and as a child, “Rudolph” exposed me to that word for the first time. ARCHIPELAGO felt mysterious and magical, this secret land where sentient toys longed to be played with and loved. “I’ll love you!” I shouted at the TV.

That warm, fuzzy feeling of childhood resurfaces every time I hear the word “archipelago.”

Then, a few years ago while I was reading, I stumbled across “archipelago” and immediately wrote it down. I wanted to keep it close.

This practice of jotting down words quickly became habit—I recorded every crazy word that made me feel something light and fun, every word that delighted my tongue. Soon I had a list of over a hundred words. And then, knowing how the internet loves lists, I threw it up on this website as “List of 200+ Fun, Cool and Interesting Words.

Through the years, I’ve added to that list. It exploded to over 500 words. And then it became the single-most accessed page on my site (yes, even more so than the picture book page layout post).

Thousands of people visited my site every month just to peruse “the word list.” Now, you’d think they’d buy a book while here, but NAH. As I’m sure many of you authors have learned, just having a website doesn’t guarantee book sales. (Oh, how I wish it were that easy!) So I thought—I should make the list into its own book! BUT HOW???

Of course, the words should be defined. And used in silly sample sentences. With cartoons. Yet, a plain dictionary isn’t very fun to read. But fun facts are entertaining to read (after all, they’re not called “boring facts”)! And organizing the words into common themes meant the entire thing didn’t have to be a list from A to Z…

After YEARS of collecting words, researching their origins, grouping them and sharing the coolest nuggets of I-can’t-believe-that info, ABSURD WORDS is FINALLY HERE! Today is publication day!

This is where ONE WORD can take you.

As I write in the introduction for ABSURD WORDS, words equal power. Every single word in this book had some kind of power that made me include it. And by “power,” I’m talking about the strength to make me FEEL. Each of these words plucked my heartstrings in some profound way.

MUUMUU reminds me of my grandmother, preparing my favorite meals in her kitchen.

LABYRINTH reminds me of that frustratingly exciting wood-and-silver-ball maze I would play with my best friend.

BAUBLE reminds me of the chest of costume jewelry I dug through while playing dress-up.

Yes, these words are fun to say, and they’re unusual enough to add sparkle to a picture book manuscript…but they also evoke a certain emotion. And picture books are about evoking emotion. A good picture book makes the reader FEEL. The character in the book has grown through the tale, but hopefully, so too has your reader.

You might think this Storystorm post is all about getting you to use uncommon, interesting words in your manuscripts. While that’s an idea I endorse—using a difficult word in context helps young readers understand new vocabulary—that’s not the point here.

I’d like you to find words that make you FEEL, and then run with that emotion. What scenario does that word conjure for you? Can you create a story about it?

I encourage you to use words that evoke the mystery and magic of an archipelago!

I am giving away an hour Zoom call to anyone for any reason. We can talk about publishing, picture books, figure skating, the legacy of Betty White, anything!

Leave one comment below to enter.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm participant and you have commented once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.