Three Things: Dictionary Edition

Hi, folks. Wren here. We’re trying something new with Three Things. Hazel will still bring you her amazing visual prompts a couple times a month, but we’re going to switch things up and bring some non-visual writing prompts featuring three things, too. (Have other ideas for what we should incorporate into these writing prompts? Email us at hello@hazelandwren.com!)

Today, I’m thinking about dictionaries. I grabbed my nearest dictionary (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language) and flipped to three separate pages, closed my eyes, and pointed at random. Here are the three words to either inspire or incorporate directly into your next narrative, story, and/or poem (it sounds a bit ominous, eh?):

hawk: n. 1. Any of various birds of prey of the order Falconiformes, and especially of the genera Accipiter and Buteo, characteristically having a short, hooked bill and strong claws adapted for seizing. See falcon. 2. Any of various similar birds. 3. A ruthless person who preys on others; a shark. 4. Informal. One who favors a militaristic version of his country’s foreign policy. In this sense, compare dove.

necromancy: n. 1. The art that professes to conjure up the spirits of the dead and commune with them in order to predict the future. 2. Black magic; sorcery. 3. Magical qualities: “the necromancy of female gracefulness” (Poe). See Synonyms at magic.

rim: n. 1. The border, edge, or margin of an object. 2. The circular outer part of a wheel, furthest from the axle. 3. A circular metal structure around which a wheel tire is fitted.