What's that word again?

[Jennifer L. Carson]

I try to write down new and interesting words I come across, but sometimes I can't and I wind up losing them. Over the years I've lost several that I wanted to keep in mind, ones that I can't just look up in a thesaurus.

For instance, in the corner of a stone building, rectangular blocks are often placed, alternating which way the long end goes, first along the "front" face, then along the "side" face, giving it the same kind of alternating dentition as dental molding, only on its side. Sometimes it is done decoratively on other buildings that aren't stone, too. Sometimes with wood or plaster used as a faux finish. I came across it in a picture dictionary once. Never have rediscovered it.

This time, it was while I was vacationing that I came across a word I want to use in my novel. It means to sleep under a wagon. Any ideas?

 

[Wruter]

All I can think of for the wagon is bivouac. Hope someone more literate than me comes along...

 

[HareBrain]

For instance, in the corner of a stone building, rectangular blocks are often placed, alternating which way the long end goes, first along the "front" face, then along the "side" face, giving it the same kind of alternating dentition as dental molding, only on its side. Sometimes it is done decoratively on other buildings that aren't stone, too. Sometimes with wood or plaster used as a faux finish. I came across it in a picture dictionary once. Never have rediscovered it.

Quoining? From this page

In a traditional, often decorative use, large exactly cuboid ashlar stone blocks or replicas are only used on the corners with their longest sides horizontally: the longest sides are laid to be on one wall plane then the other that the corner forms (course after course). This forms a long-side, short-side alternate pattern, which by using the same size blocks alternates when the viewer passes the corner. This can be called the alternate, horizontal quoining technique.

(My bolding.)

 

[The Judge]

Quoin is the term I know for the corner stones, though I'm sure I've heard another which I can't bring it to mind at present. Sleeping under a wagon isn't anything I've ever wanted to do, so can't help you there!

I also keep lists of words I like the sound of and might want to use, but I never think to look at them when I'm writing, so they end up not being used anyway!


EDIT: beaten to the punch by seconds by the damnable hare -- knew I should have posted quicker!

 

[Jennifer L. Carson]

LOL, Judge. And thanks to both, indeed Quoining is what I am talking about. <scribble scribble...inserting it in my word list> And while I'm at it, I'll toss in ashlar. I find architectural words both interesting and useful in writing.

Of course the word I want to use right now is the sleeping under wagons thing. I can't even remember what I was reading when I came across it. Hmmm....now that I'm thinking on it, I stayed in a vardo (gypsy caravan wagon) on a farm in Wales this vacation. I did look those up. That's the only thing that makes any sense.

I love to peruse my word list. I do this thing when I'm stuck, I review the word lists and I start reading thesaurus entries for words related to the main action and the mood of the scene I need to write. I write them down and keep them next to me while I do the scene. Does two things for me. One, it makes me identify the main action/point and two gets me in the emotional space of that piece. I find I get stuck sometimes when I don't know how the main characters really feel about the situation, I'm focusing on the situation too much when the emotion of the scene is so very important for reader engagement...and writer engagement it seems for me at least.

I have a good list of insults and curses since I find curses and oaths and the like hard to pull off. Since each culture has it's own list of taboos, the cursing, swearing, and oath making are different. I've always struggled to try to make this element feel real in my writing because so often I find stuff like that feeling forced in the books I read. To do it well, you have to take time to understand what are the hierarchies of the taboos in your world culture. For instance, in our culture, there are slurs based on deviation from male-female sexual patterns. Ancient Rome had some overlapping themes because a big element of their cursing (et. al) was also based on sexual stuff. However, rather than being along the lines of deviation from male-female relations, they base theirs on submissive and dominator, or to be blatant, the penetrated and the penetrator. So same sex relations were in no way taboo, even to the extent that in one instance I've read of, a man who slept with only women was called effeminate for not having dallied with other men (or boys). Anyway, I digress. my point is, my research into swearing, my notes and my lists helps a lot when it's time to have people start slinging about insults, a time when I'm usually in the swing of things and don't want to go researching at that moment. So I love my word lists.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Pretty sure it's quoining - many years as a castle tour guide behind me.

 

[ThomasG]

Bivouac - as someone who camps quite a lot, I associate this word, as a noun, with a temporary improvised shelter. As a verb, it would be to sleep out in the open under some temporary improvised shelter or tarp. A wagon doesn't sound improvised enough , To say "I bivouacked under a wagon" does not seem to work. Sorry for not offering an alternative, though.

 

[Jennifer L. Carson]

Thanks for the new word. I had heard it but didn't know what it meant. But you're right, it's not the word I had read. I went online and through references to vardos but still never found it. Oh well.

 

[Wiglaf]

Quoining, huh, or not quoining. At first, I thought you meant the bond (Flemish, English, American, etc.), but that is the wall not the corner. I can't find anything for sleeping under a prairie schooner. The westward wagon trains seemed like a good place to start. Do you remember the historical context of the word? (Ancient Kelts, under station wagons)

 

[Jennifer L. Carson]

Quoining, huh, or not quoining. At first, I thought you meant the bond (Flemish, English, American, etc.), but that is the wall not the corner. I can't find anything for sleeping under a prairie schooner. The westward wagon trains seemed like a good place to start. Do you remember the historical context of the word? (Ancient Kelts, under station wagons)

I was researching vardos since I stayed at one in Wales on vacation in June. Sooooo much fun. And what I read said something about people would sleep under wagons like when it rained and it said that had this word associated with it. And I don't know the wall/bond thing, so I looked it up. More words for my list! Thanks.