WORDS…

 

“Words: They are more than tools used in the transfer of simple information from mind to mind…. I was attempting to use them as paint, spreading them on a canvas rather than paper. I wanted to write to the body and to the senses as well as the mind.  Did I? It’s a tricky goal, and perhaps I shouldn’t admit to having aimed so high. The admission can make failure more obvious.”

~N.D. Wilson, Preface to Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl:
Wide Eyed Wonder in God’s Spoken World

May we all dare to aim high as we use the amazing gift of words entrusted in our hands …

 

A Question for You:  How high do you aim when you are using words to transmit the message you want to communicate to your reader?  How much do you wrestle with words to make the message as powerful and effective as it can possibly be?

Related Posts:

1. Energize Your Writing with Dynamic Verbs

2. Tip #5: Revision Strategy – Cut Adverbial Fat

3. Figures of Speech: Handle with Care

Why I Write…

“Words are powerful. They help us process both the joys and the struggles of life. That’s why I write.

Words reflect who we are: parents, teachers, sons, daughters, children of the King. Words revive us when the hard bits of life, the struggles and the sorrows, tempt us to despair. Words allow us to rejoice and to share the lessons we learn in every circumstance, even the hard ones.”

~ Jolene Philo
www.jolenephilo.com

Stay tuned for an upcoming glimpse into Jolene’s first book, A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children, scheduled for release in September 2009 by Discovery House Publishers.

Question: Why do you write? Share your thoughts below.

Related Reading:

1. The Dusty Drawer: A Call to Write

2. Communicating the Vision: An Interview with Kathi Macias

3. From ‘Samaritan Woman’ to ‘Anna’: An Interview with Jeanne Sant

Figures of Speech: Handle with Care

I had to break away from reading an article a colleague wants me to edit to share this piece of timeless writing advice on the use of figures of speech:

“The simile is a common device and useful one, but similes coming in rapid fire, one right on top of another, are more distracting than illuminating. Readers need time to catch their breath: they can’t be expected to compare everything with something else, and not relief in sight.

When you use a metaphor, do not mix it up. That is, don’t start by calling something a swordfish and end by calling it an hourglass.”

Some of you may recall that these words of writing wisdom come from The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.  In my opinion, every writer should own a copy, have it always handy, and review it often.  I have one at work, one at home, and the illustrated edition on order — it’s a gem full of writing-nutritious eye candy!

Mmm… I’ll have to think of a better metaphor.

Do you have some examples of good — and not so good — uses of figures of speech to share?