Like countless others, I love writing and struggle find time to do it. Last weekend, I had the unusual opportunity to hole up in a cafe on my own for awhile and write. Since it's near the end of NaNoWriMo, this was really useful. I'm facing the facts-- it's going to be very tough to catch up on my word count, but I'm going to try.
Listening to Radiolab on the way to the cafe, I had to smile. When I tuned in, the program was investigating how children acquire language, and asking thought-provoking (ha) questions about how the brain works.
The next segment was about Shakespeare--specifically on his inventive use of language, and words and phrases he coined. Many readers are familiar with the outsize impact Shakespeare and the Bible have had on our language, but even they might be surprised at some facts:
- Shakespeare pioneered the "un" prefix. !!
- and invented the word "eyeball"
For someone who loves words and languages and was about to spend time writing, this was a wonderfully inspiring episode to hear. It's here.
Wondering how that writing session went? Really productive! If I could get time like that every day, I might be able to finish NaNo! As it is, I can't, but I'll still try...