Wording

I love words.

And it's a good thing since writing is really the crux of the whole cartoonist thing.  You can be the greatest artist in the world, but if your writing stinks, t'ain't  nobody buyin'.

One of my tricks when I'm stumped is to hit the books.  I've got a number of different reference volumes to kick start the process:

• Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms
•  The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
• The Dictionary of Cliches
• The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases

But I heard of a newer source of topical and popular language that I intend to be digging into the next time I'm drawing a blank, the Global Language Monitor.

There's tons of great stuff here, although I'd like it to be updated a little more frequently.

I'm also looking forward to digging into Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meaning by Sol Steinmetz.

Dunno how inspiring it will be cartoon-wise, but it sounds like a fun read.

Word up!

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Comments

[Cartoon Blogger]

I haven't heard about some of the resources you mentioned. Thanks man.

[Mike Lynch]

Cool. I just stare at the damned wall ....