Naming can seem mysterious because it's ridden with myths. And when a name-seeker approaches the naming process armed with myth rather than truth, the myth inevitably gets in the way. So let's take a few minutes to examine ten common myths about name development.

Want to get the message across to get the revenue in? Professional copywriter Dianna Huff writes the Marcom Writer Blog, a website about marketing communications, copywriting and related topics. Here are some of the books she recommends:

Cashing In With Content by David Meerman Scott

Words that Sell by Richard Bayan

The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil

Writing White Papers by Michael A. Stelzner

When I was in Oxford, England, visiting my daughter who was studying there, I looked up into the beams of Merton Chapel and there was a face peering down at me. It was a face with leaves sprouting as hair, vines and tendrils springing from his mouth and nose. I had come to face to with an ancient carving of a Greenman. Greenman have been found in churches in the British Isles since the 12th century and they've been in existence in different forms in many countries for much longer than that. My response as a writer was to ask what if? What would it be like if my hair suddenly turned to leaves, my skin became as rough and fluted as sycamore bark, and vines pushed their way up my throat? My musings turned into a poem, The Greenman, which was published in several journals and anthologies.

Have you ever seen a five-year-old trying to learn to ride a bicycle? The bike wobbles like a duck in choppy water, the child shrieks and then suddenly takes off. But one false move -- a lean in the wrong direction or a bit of over-enthusiastic pedaling -- and whoosh, she's off too fast down the street and veering into the bushes with a thump and tears.

Writing coach Daphne Gray-Grant, who contributed this week's "Word Count" feature, suggests these terrific books on grammar and writing. Daphne tells us about her picks:

The Transitive Vampire by Karen Gordon. "This book is not only funny, it's also short and substantive -- a bit of a hat-trick when it comes to grammar. The design conceit is that it is illustrated with line drawings of dragons, gargoyles and, yes, vampires. The drawings are quite serious and the captions are silly. And the juxtaposition of the two always makes a grammatical point."

Sin and Syntax by Constance Hale. "I like this book because it covers more than grammar -- and because it's funny and flexible. Hale is not the kind of gal who's going to get her knickers in a knot over rules. In fact, she's all for breaking them (the catch is that you need to know you're breaking them.) I like the way the book is divided into three main parts with a set of chapters devoted to various parts of speech -- nouns, pronouns, verbs, etc. -- a set to sentences, and a set labeled "Music" covering voice, lyricism, melody, and rhythm."

Nancy Wells is a VT subscriber and senior copywriter from Chicago, IL. She graciously sent us this list of sites where she goes for creative inspiration -- when she's not using the Visual Thesaurus! As Nancy told us, "the Visual Thesaurus is on my bookmark bar nestled between Google and the Chicago Tribune. I go to company brainstorm sessions with my computer and get on the VT for ideas." Thanks for your support, Nancy!

Google Image Labeler "Gets my brain warmed up for thinking of headline and copy ideas."

Creative Ideas

Malcolm Gladwell's column.

Word Spy

Buzzwhack

Finally, Nancy asks you, our fine subscribers: "Where do you get ideas and inspiration?"

Please let us know...