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Write Well: On obviation, clay tablets, and pen names.

Write Well: On obviation, clay tablets, and pen names.

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Angela Hunt
Feb 11, 2025
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Write Well
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Write Well: On obviation, clay tablets, and pen names.
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Word of the Week: obviate (AHB-vee-ate)

To make unnecessary or prevent by taking proper measures. From the Latin obviates, and obviate, “to meet, to withstand.” She had packed her suitcase with great care, obviating the need for a mad dash to the store for toothbrush and toothpaste. Related words: obvious, obviation.


Q&A

Question: How did authors write novels before the invention of computers?

Answer: Before computers, they used typewriters.

Before typewriters? Pen and paper.

Before pen and paper? Papyrus or parchment and quills and ink.

Before papyrus? Clay tablets.

Before clay tablets? They told stories to others who memorized them and passed them along.

The urge to tell stories is as old as mankind.


News flash: a podcast with Thomas Umstattd on beginning and ending your novel dropped today!

Christian Publishing Show
Beginnings and Endings of Novels with Angela Hunt
Have you ever started reading a book and just couldn’t get past the first few chapters? Or maybe you enjoyed the book, but the ending left you feeling empty inside. It just didn’t quite work. Beginnings and endings can make or break your novels…
Listen now
5 months ago · Christian Publishing Show

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