Hi friends!
Ernest Hemingway might’ve written the saddest six-word story,1 but I’m about to one-up him.
Here’s the most chilling horror story any writer has ever read. In just 5 words.
A blank screen: deadline approaching.
It’s okay. We’ll get through this together.
If you’re searching for inspiration, search no further.
Here are 4 free tools to get your ideas moving.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa1613b9e-8b7e-43ae-ad68-e30844fcd6de_1164x328.png)
Writer’s block is real
And it’s nasty.
This post will (hopefully) be really handy. If not, at least it’ll be fun for my fellow word nerds.
I spent 8 hours (yes I called it “research time” in my calendar) scouring Onym’s resources.
Onym is a game-changing website that helps you name things. Here are 4 of my favourite tools.
1. The Phrontistery
Searching for a beautiful word you half remember? Power Thesaurus letting you down?
The Phrontistery is The Spot ™ to find it:
It includes wonders like:
The Compendium of Lost Words (400+ of the rarest modern English words)
I’m so glad I now know the difference between a pudu and a puku.
(No this email is not going to help you stop procrastinating. Sorry did I not make that obvious?)
2. Chatnamer by Tanj
A ChatGTP-powered naming tool from Tanj (a brand naming and language studio).
![A screenshot of my chat with Chatnamer. The bot asked, “What do you need to name? For example, ‘A company that offers…’ or ‘A product that does…’ Keep it simple but specific.” I replied, “A course about inclusive and accessible writing”, to which the bot said, “Pick a character for your brand - a famous person or unique personality.” I chose Taylor Swift. A screenshot of my chat with Chatnamer. The bot asked, “What do you need to name? For example, ‘A company that offers…’ or ‘A product that does…’ Keep it simple but specific.” I replied, “A course about inclusive and accessible writing”, to which the bot said, “Pick a character for your brand - a famous person or unique personality.” I chose Taylor Swift.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cca42f8-4420-421b-9828-3fd062845cc6_1652x878.png)
I’m half way through delivering my new group programme. And while it’s got a name already, I thought I’d ask Chatnamer to come up with one.
The suggestions were:
"Word Harmony"
"Inclusive Ink"
"Words For All"
"Scribes United"
"AccessiWrite"
In the end, I opted for “Bold Type.” Thank you Iain Robertson for coming up with the name! But some of Chatnamer’s ideas were nice. I like the alliteration of “inclusive ink.”
3. OneLook Thesaurus
OneLook Thesaurus is, I can’t believe I’m going to say this, my favourite thesaurus.
Big talk. So why do I rate OneLook as my One True Thesaurus?
You can search by a single word or phrase, and it’ll throw out a massive list of related words.
The best part? You can filter the results by:
adjectives
nouns
verbs
adverbs
idioms/slang.
P.S. PowerThesaurus, I still adore you.
4. Tools for creating ideas
If your imagination feels dusty and your inspiration has run dry, you need Creating Minds.
This cute little lo-fi webpage is so much mightier than it looks.
It’s a list of prompts to help you come up with new, unexpected ways of thinking.
My favourite suggestions are:
brainwriting - a quick, useful exercise for a group brainstorming session
guided imagery - explore ideas, and let your subconscious speak to you
how-how diagram - approach a problem by asking “how?” (over and over)
random words - use a completely random word as a stimulus
write streaming - empty your crowded brain out on to the page. Ah, the bliss of a quiet moment in your mind.
How do you spark ideas when your imagination feels dusty? Share your suggestions in the comments!
You’re doing great.
Ettie
Heavy emphasis on the might, because Hemingway probably didn’t write that famous six-word short story. But I’ll share it here anyway, because it’s a miracle of compression, and it hits me in the heart every time: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Oh my god i love all of these suggestions already
Love the look of Creating Minds. I'll be having a play around with these :)