I have seen a statistic that just 1,000 words make up 90% of all writing in English. Probably right, but writers surely need a few more that this – certainly if they are to inspire editors to accept their work.
Most of us revel in words and I am regularly ashamed of my own ignorance. Until recently I didn’t know the words tittle or gambrinous*, and was surprised at the Christmas quiz of a large writing group to discover that very few knew the meaning of what is, without a doubt, my favourite word: abibliophobia. Bibliophobia, an irrational fear of books, is better known, abibliophobia is a fear of being in a position of having nothing to read and it makes me shudder just to think about that.