Inventing Vermit

From the earliest days writers have invented words. Two of the masters in this art were Shakespeare and Dr. Seuss. I should, of course, add Lewis Carroll. Those who live by the word, die by the word. It seems only fair that they should help create their own means of execution.

My writing partner Fantasia and I like to discuss words we’ve invented. I pepper them into my stories, and since publishers tend to eschew truly creative works, most of the heat is felt by me alone. It’s truly sad, because, in the most modest way possible, I like to think that some of those words add flavor as well as heat.

Some time ago I began keeping a list of invented words I’d used, or intended to use. Since my stories are about as likely to see publication as the Whig party is to win in 2016, it seems fitting to share a few of my favorites.

One class of made up word I use is the modified real word. An example of this occurs in my story “Initiating an Apocalypse” where the word “toiletal” occurs. I do hope to get this story published some day, as it is quite fun, but at least three publishers disagree with me on that point. Flunt.

The meaning of the majority of my invented words remains with me, however, and reading them in context, like a good philologist, will clarify their function. Younce, jorg, twost, ascleir, and tuckle are examples. Of course, some of them may have been invented before, but I’ve never read them.

Publishers fear what they can’t understand. Writers invent vermit. Who are the really creative ones here?

Comments

Dusty

My, this thing is dusty. My fans—hi, Mom!—perhaps believe me to have perished in the pandemic. No, it was nonfiction’s fault. Since the pandemic began I’ve had two nonfiction books published and have written a third. With a nine-to-five job something’s got to give. Unfortunately it’s been fiction. Well, the groundhog didn’t see his shadow yesterday, so it must be safe to come out. I shuffled away the rejection notes and began submitting again. I’ve got a backlog of weird stories and maybe some new publishers have emerged? The thing is, don’t you just hate it when you’re in the mood to submit and some lit journal has its window for submissions firmly shut? My last story, “ The Hput, ” was published about three years ago. Oh, I’ve submitted since then, but with no traction. Well, it is winter. I’ve got a lot of stories lined up. I’ve been sending them out again, dreaming of making a dime at what I love doing best...

Creative Righting

Rejection of my writing is a rejection of my imaginative world. That’s why I was cheered by the acceptance of one of my stories this week. That makes number 31. I’ve been working on a lot of fiction lately, even as nonfiction book number 6 is going to press. The ideas are still there, and bizarre as ever, but publishing venues just aren’t welcoming. The other day I had lunch with a professor whose wife is also a professor. She just had her first novel published, and so he pointed me to her indie publisher. I went to their website to learn that they’re closed to submissions. I have to admit that my latest accepted story, “Creative Writing Club,” was probably given the green light because I know the editor. That seems like a pretty dicey way to get any notice, doesn’t it? You have to know the right people even in the low circulation world. My fiction is difficult to classify. It’s got speculative elements to it. ...

Patterns

There’s a pattern I’m noticing. For fiction publishers. Even if you aim low you’ll find it a struggle. Part of the reason is the pattern. Lots of websites list publishers. The smaller, hungrier presses either eventually close or get to a place where they require an agent to get in. That’s the kiss of death. Although my stories have won prizes, and been nominated for prizes, I can’t get an agent interested. I’ve queried well over a hundred, so the agent route is one of diminishing returns. This too is a pattern. Back to the smaller presses. I check many lists. What I write, you see, is highly idiosyncratic. It’s literary but it’s weird. Publishers don’t know what to do with it. If a smaller press published stuff like this, I’d find it. The pattern includes writers who never get discovered. Ironically, a number of editors of fiction literary magazines (mostly online) tell me they enjoy my wor...

K. Marvin Bruce

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