While you’re waiting for me to finish reading the entries and decide on the finalists, I thought you might enjoy this word cloud of all the entries. I pasted all 2,651 comments/entries (which translated to about 247,000 words) into the word cloud generator on wordle.net.
Here’s the result:
The prominence of “like” is a reflection of how many similes there were in the first paragraphs.
I’ll be back tomorrow with the finalists!
pippa says
Is it wrong to feel a sense of accomplishment to check your paragraph and verify that you did NOT use the most popular word?
Ash. Elizabeth says
darn. just realized the word always was in my and it's on the generator.
Anonymous says
"eyes" and "hands." I used both of those!
Rachel Grant says
247,000 words = 2.5 full length novels. I don't envy your reading tonight.
Brian Crawford says
I didn't see "starfish" on there; at least I have that going for me.
Ted says
Hard to believe "sword" isn't in there somewhere.
Sarah Olutola says
New fav site 😀
julieduck says
Like, omigod!
– Julie
Jan Markley says
I 'wordled' my blog a while ago. Very cool. Check it out.
https://janmarkley.blogspot.com/2009/10/wordle.html
lotusgirl says
Happy reading! Whew! No similes in mine. Yes!
Mira says
LOL.
Nathan, you're so much fun. 🙂
Paige says
Susan–your word cloud/word scramble thing made my night! I love the way your mind works.
I'm new to this blog (Susan sucked me in!) and I have to say Nathan–I'm with Wendy that you are a rare upbeat and friendly voice in a sea of people trying to out mean each other to prove how smart and above-it-all they are. I also agree with all the people who said you're crazy to do this. Long live the crazies of the world!
Paige
Tina Spear says
That's the coolest thing – I so needed this after a stressful day.
Too Cute to be Very Interesting says
So "like" is the most common word. But what were my eyes drawn to immediately? The fact that it says "three way" on the middle right. Snicker snicker.
andy says
Can't wait to see who wins!
Aimee States says
WHEN DO YOU SLEEP, MAN?!?
Andrew Jack says
Awesome, love the word cloud!
Good luck everyone
Kristi says
You had so much spare time while reading 2,500 entries that you made a word cloud? Did you write another book tonight as well? I think you have a twin brother and the two of you sit back and laugh over how you amaze everyone with your "productivity." Yes, I used quotes – I'm tired. I wish I had your energy, Nathan.
Literary Cowgirl says
I'm, going to be a maverick and say LIKE is a damn fine word and I am glad it was prominent. Your first paragraph is generally only a few sentences long. You save half the words you would have needed by making a comparison to something familiar.The goal is to get the reader as immersed in your writing as possible as soon as possible. A decent, non-cliche simile does just the trick. (I'm not just saying that because my first sentence used one, either).
And Nathan, how do you do it? Read the entries and paste them into a fancy tool. Wow! I am amazed. Amazed, not kb.
Literary Cowgirl says
Oh, and anyone who wants to call me out on the carpet, here's some ammo:
Gypsy's skin crawled like she'd been pickled in whiskey.
Yes, I used a character's name, too.
Now, peck away.
Word recognition: wilie- what the boys get on a Sat night without a date.
Matera the Mad says
I do not have "like" in my first paragraph neener neener
DebraLSchubert says
I love wordle, and it's great to see a combo of our collective entries. Maybe we should all sing "Kumbaya" together? Or not…
mkcbunny says
This is so much fun, and we're not even to the voting yet. I can't believe we got a "commercial break" bit of entertainment while we wait for the finalists.
Best blog ever.
[word ver =flahshon. Trendy clothes that come and go .]
Drew Power says
Did you omit articles such as 'the'?
Whirlochre says
This would make a great motif on a pair of bathing trunks…
Nathan Bransford says
drew-
Wordle does that automatically.
Also, I'd like to state for the record that I have nothing against the word "like" provided it is followed by a very good simile.
Veronica Barton-Dean says
So, here it is 2 o'clock in the morning and I finally finished reading all the paragraphs. First off, I would like to say thank you for such a great contest. Next, for all of amazing talent that lie between every word. The thing I like most about writers is how unique we all are. We could be given the same sentence to start with and each of us would come up with something different. We are creators of our own worlds and universes and I consider myself lucky to be part of it.
Thank you Nathan for allowing me to be inspired by these wonderful people:)
Xiexie says
Veronica that was beautiful. Kudos.
Not related to anything my word verification is daggisma . I like it.
Andrew says
247,000 words? Pah. That's only 86% of the first draft of my first novel!
That's about 1 chapter in "The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion" by H.Darger
Though even I won't read something THAT huge
Sarah says
Like totally cool, (like the weather here in the midwest, not.)
Regan Leigh says
Ha! Susan, we are SO on the same wave length. 🙂 I did a paragraph on AW with the list, except I tried using only the words in the cloud. It felt like using the magnet phrases you put on refrigerators. I came up with…
Just like one time, back around three long years past, I opened my eyes and found one dead body. Two thoughts came across my mind. The woman knew everything now and the blood was on my hands. I had left the door open.
Completely awful, but oh so much fun. 😉
Maya / מיה says
Susan and Regan, hilarious!! I was hoping someone would do that. 🙂 I think it's scary how similar your opening paragraphs sound to a lot of our entries (including mine, probably).
Then again, the words in the cloud aren't necessarily bad, just common. Maybe the secret to a brilliant first paragraph is to average everyone's first paragraphs, like generating a beautiful face by averaging the faces of a ton of ordinary-looking people.
I'm going for 97-word first paragraphs from now on. 🙂
brizmus says
This is hilarious and awesome!
bigwords88 says
Bonus points to anyone whose paragraph has all of the words in the word cloud present and correct.
I was gonna make a bitchy comment about the fact that Dan Brown wouldn't have a chance of winning this, but something so obvious would be beneath me.
Linguista says
Finalists tomorrow, did you say? How do you do it? Wow!
Alina says
That's pretty amazing. I'm glad the prominence of "like" was from similes and not, like, you know…
I went to a writing conference recently where I was introduced to Wordle as a way to pinpoint your favorite (overused) words in your MS. Plus, the result just looks cool!
Richard Lewis says
Much blood! Man watched. Little hands, cold eyes. Dark small door, one last death..
Chris Eldin says
That's really nice of you, Nathan. Thank you for everything you're doing!
🙂
reader says
Crap, I can't get it to work with one of my ms, because my computer blocks it. Fun though.
Stina Lindenblatt says
Yay, no likes in mine. The longest paragraph (that I noticed) was 540 words.
Melanie Avila says
This is hilarious! I don't have like, but I do have BACK.
Anonymous says
haha that is pretty cool.
–Kaneya Naran
Eden Glenn says
Oh my! Another new toy to play with. Wild. Love the paragraphs made with the target words too. Creativity abounds.
Wordle art for my wall?
Karen says
Ooooh…new contest idea: best first paragraph someone can come up with using the wordle words.
CKHB says
I love Wordle. I blogged about how it can be used as a tool for writers to discover trends in their own writing… like overuse of similes, perhaps?
J. Nelson Leith says
Word that I am most surprised to see in the word cloud?
"removed"
Santa says
Nathan, 'like' has become such an annoying word for me, particularly when used ad nauseum by my tween, that any good similies following it become null and void.
Other than that – I've no qualms with the word. I love how Wordle does the scramble.
carolynyalin says
That's a great tool to see if you overuse a word.
Lucinda says
That is very interesting. I have put the link in my favorites just for fun.
I normally use MS Word searching tools to locate repetitive words in my manuscripts. After a word count of a certain word, I go on a hunt-and-destroy mission. It works quite well.
One thing I have learned in all the studies, rewrites, advice, and writing forums is that there is no forbidden words. No word is bad unless it is used incorrectly or too frequently.
I like the Wordle site. I may play there later…when I have more time.
(I like…but not like I)
(He is like a frog…He resembles a frog.)
word ver: exhea. Leaving here would be exhea'
Lucinda says
Alas…seeing as I cannot find an edit button here.
"…is no forbidden words." should read, "…are no forbidden words."
(blush)
word ver: anasedin. I wonder what Ana set in?