Saturday 11 April 2015

J is for Jejune


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is Jejune.

Jejune: 1. Naive and simplistic. 2. (Of ideas or writings) dull.

Everything had been terribly jejune before April. He didn’t know what it was, he was just going round in circles, nothing was happening in his novel, the characters needed a personality transplant or just a kick up the jacksie. But the stuff he was doing now was some of his best ever writing. Having to come up with a different short story every day was making his synapses fizz and go in loads of directions. And daily feedback helped to show what might be worth pursuing. Already he had ideas for several books. He’d recommend the A-Z Challenge to anyone.

33 comments:

Michael Abayomi said...

There is something distinctly autobiographical about this piece, innit? :)

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

*claps* I love what you did there :) Also, new word on me again.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Keith's Ramblings said...

What a great sounding word. Far too good for it's meaning!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

One of the bonuses of the Challenge!

Alex Hurst said...

I'd tend to agree. Hopefully things will be far less jejune by the end of the month, and this writer will have enough material to keep him busy for months. ;)

Stephanie Faris said...

That's a strange word! I can't say I'd ever use it, mostly because naive and dull just say it so much better!

Jennifer Hawes said...

I see what you did there. It's nice to have plenty of ideas for stories, rather than none or only one:)

Chrys Fey said...

Jejune is a cool word. “kick up the jacksie” Haha! I like how you found a way to include A to Z. 

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

That word doesn't mean what I thought it meant. Hope that is a true story today.

betty said...

This was cute; and I agree with what Susan said. I hope it is a true story today :)

When I first read this, I thought April was going to be a girl until the end and then of course I realized it was the month :)

betty

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - Jejune - is a good word .. needing to be used judiciously .. otherwise readers won't exactly know what we're inferring.

I do love your post and the way you constructed it to explain jejune ...

Cheers Hilary

Trisha said...

I should definitely focus on writing snippets next year, then - so I can stop feeling so very jejune!! :P

Holly Jahangiri said...

Hahaha...a little autobiographical, isn't it?

:)

Annalisa Crawford said...

Love it!

Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

cleemckenzie said...

This is the first word you've posted that I actually did know! At last.

djinnia said...

If only that were true for me. I think mine have atrophied.

J E Oneil said...

Finally, a word I've heard of, although I didn't really know what it meant.

So does this story have some real world inspiration? :)

Shell Flower said...

That is awesome that you are getting inspired by the challenge. I do hope this is true and not just fiction.

Stephen Tremp said...

I learned a new word today. Not sure if I'll ever use it, but it's good to know.

Liz A. said...

Ah yes. A word I remember from French class...

Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

Donna McDine said...

How cool is that! Keep up the great work! Hope you are enjoying the A-Z Challenge!

Empty Nest Insider said...

Now that's anything but a jejune story! What an excellent ending too!

Julie

Cortney Pearson said...

Jejune...it sounds/looks French! Great word, and I like the piece too, ha ha. :D

J Lenni Dorner said...

LOL! Loving this post.

Funny side note- I used this same word two years ago for A to Z.
(Please don't mind the odd spacing, or the captcha killing request. My blog has since relocated, and moved posts suffered slightly. The words are still good though!
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/2013/04/11/jejune/ )

Anyway, hope you're enjoying the 2015 challenge as much as I am. Keep up the great work.

J

liz young said...

Neat twist on yourself there!

Sophie Duncan said...

Nicely done! This made me smile - glad the A to Z is working for you!

And I learnt another new word.

Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press

Jemima Pett said...

I know what you mean! Great use of the prompt :)

Susan Scott said...

Thanks for this, a lovely explanation. I'll be going back - and forward to keep up to date with these posts!

loverofwords said...

Jejune, does juvenile stem from that word, I wonder? It would make sense. (Sometimes my comments are jejune).

J.L. Campbell said...

Interestingly, I only came across this word recently when I was thinking about my J post.

Jean Davis said...

I see what you did there. ;)

Michelle Wallace said...

Very smart, Nick!
I love the direction in which you took the word...

Kathryn Thornton said...

I love how topical you made this. Lovely job

Writing daily really does help. So does reading well written books.