Words are my favorite form of art. I delight in a finely crafted statement. In the last week, here are some memorable ones from my ongoing collection.
In my book, “Life After Life,” a mother’s failure to instruct a young bride is described as ‘hinted but fallen short of anatomical exactitude.’
Jen recently texted me this wise nugget: “Life doesn’t always allow you to follow whatever arbitrary rules you establish.”
And I saw on Facebook, Carl’s snarky comment about the weather, “20 is the new 40.”
All these words made me pause, reflect and re-read. The word choices were ideal.
Yesterday, I had a wordy Wednesday. In the space of my evening, word utilization had a potent effect.
First, a loved one shared with me a text that she received from an acquaintance. It was horrific. The writer was a psycho c#nt (a word I seldom use). The savagery was shocking. The message was pointless. The text was just a vicious attack from a nobody trying to be a somebody. And the somebody she wanted to be was a psycho c#nt? Why? Why would someone be unnecessarily cruel? Why would somebody go out of their way to be unkind especially to someone struggling? I was compassionately devastated for the victim by these texted words.
Next, I took that harsh blow across the street to the Poetry Foundation. Chicago has a Poetry Foundation. Right?! I had no idea. This is a picture of the building, 61 W. Superior, housing some of the best word combinations ever. Fulcrum Point New Music hosted an event combining poems and music. The program mingled composers and poets from Yale University. The words were spoken, projected and sung. The evening was a unique experience of brass meets verse.
I floated home on the lyrical whimsy of the event. When I cracked open “How to Train a Wild Elephant,”
I learned that this week’s assignment is the absence of words, specifically; filler words. Here’s some of the suggested eliminations: um, ah, so, well, like, you know, kind of, sort of. These are words without meaning that water down the statement. The difference between “I kind of like you” and “I like you” is significant. As a writer, this challenge is both necessary and difficult. In some ways, eliminating words reduces the colorful expression. On the other hand, it gets to the point.
Words inspire. Words harm. Choose words wisely!