Updated November 2023

Inventing words is a time-honored tradition among writers. After all, Shakespeare invented his own words, and look how well things turned out for his writing! At Writer’s Relief, we know that the unique quirks of a writing life sometimes defy conventional grammatical description.

So we’ve come up with a list of some great, new words! Here are fun, made-up words that we feel every writer should use.

13 Made-Up Words Every Writer Should Start Using Right Now

Brainblock: When your head is full of great ideas, but you can’t seem to get any of those ideas down on paper.

Commadroppa: An author who, uses too, many, commas.

Storystracted: When you suddenly have an idea for another story, poem, or book while in the middle of writing your current one.

Halfsiebard: That writer in your writing group with a bunch of half-finished poems or short stories.

Ickclick: When you avoid submitting your work for publication because you hate doing all the research to find the right literary journals or agents for your writing style.

Ductaption: The process of pasting your heavily edited work back together.

Oversharessay: When your personal essay sounds too much like your personal diary.

Tolkienfever: A condition that causes you to become so wrapped up in the world-building and miniscule details of your story that you completely forget the plot.

Dreamelerium: The despair you feel when you dream about a good writing idea but can’t remember it when you wake up.

Repeat-a-diddle: When you repeat a word so often in your writing that it starts to sound weird.

Proofneeder: A writer who never proofreads their work.

Editactula: A writer who cannot stop editing and re-editing their work so it can be submitted for publication.

OMGIP!: A writer who receives an acceptance for publication—Oh My Gosh I’m Published!

We hope these silly new words make you smile! Fun Fact: Smiling at made-up words makes you a “grammar-grin-arian”! (Okay, it’s a made-up fact, but it’s still important to smile and laugh.)

If you’re suffering from a bad case of “ickclick,” the research experts at Writer’s Relief can help! We’ll do all the busywork of vetting the best markets for your writing to boost your odds of getting an acceptance—“OMGIP!” Learn more about our services and submit your work to our Review Board today!

Whether you want to take the traditional publishing route or prefer to self-publish, we can help. Give us a call, and we will point you in the right direction!

Question: Which of these made-up words will you use first?