Just a thought – about words, thinking and writing
Why do you have to “put your two cents in”.. . But it’s only a “penny for your thoughts”? Where’s that extra penny going to?
Some of our idioms are rather interesting and even contradictory – or at best, rather confusing when you stop and think about them.
The thought quoted above made me think – dangerous habit, I know. As writers we need to be quite careful about the words we use, the expressions we incorporate in our work and the idioms, similes, cliches and other phrases we so lazily include in our articles, blogs and stories. Original and memorable writing takes effort.
Original writing that expresses old ideas in new ways will always appear fresh, interesting and compelling. It will be like applying a coat of paint to an old building; it will still be that dilapidated structure, but will look great, or at least quite a bit better.
Related article:
- What is an idiom? – includes a definition.
Poem #12 Rain on Rose Petals
Rose in our garden
Rain on Rose Petals
I stand
In the soft
Morning light
With raindrops
Softly trickling
Down my face
Cool and sweet
(Lip-lick delight).
I stoop
In the soft
Morning light
To watch
Gentle droplets
Caressing rose petals
Lingeringly
(Love-stroke delight).
I bend
In the soft
Morning light
To catch
The sun’s
Early rays
In pink petal dazzle
(Diamond delight).
I drink deeply from its fine perfume.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2006 Trevor W. Hampel.
Who do you write for?
I guess that title should be more correctly written: “For whom do you write?” but that sounds too stuffy.
It is a question I don’t think I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about. Do I write for some nebulous person who happens to be a conglomerate of many readers? Do I write to satisfy the editor of a magazine so my story or article will be published? Do I write for the readers of this blog who regularly leave comments?
I’m not really sure.
One thing I am certain about, however, is that I definitely write for myself. The satisfaction I derive from the creative process is worth the many long hours at the keyboard. I also like the warm glow I get when a piece works, or a story turns out far beyond my expectations. Coming back to something I wrote decades ago and getting a glimpse of a younger me, wow – that’s worth it.
It is almost trite to say, because it has been said so many times by some many writers, but I really HAVE to write. Not being able to write is like not being able to breathe. It is so much a part of who I am.
A recent article by Liz Strauss on Successful Blog has made me rethink this issue. Perhaps there is one person who is more important than me when it comes to my readers.
Link:
- Writing for that one most important reader: that curious, clever, intelligent individual.
- Successful Blog – Liz Strauss writes about many interesting topics.
Just a thought
No Comments »2nd November, 2006; Category: Just a Thought
How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
Words are strange.
Words are powerful.
You never know exactly what they mean, or how they are being used by a writer or a speaker. There are so many nuances with words in English which just add so much colour to our language. In the quote above, two words, “murdered” and “assassinated” are used. To that we might add “slaughtered” and “man-slaughter.” Why not just say “killed.” That is because each word has different shades of meaning, each word has implications for the reader or listener and each would draw on different emotions.
What do you expect from blogging?
When I first started blogging I didn’t really know what to expect. My first expectation, I guess was that it should complement my writing for the print media. I had several novels and picture books for children in draft form, I had a significant body of poetry and short stories ready for magazines and there were several other writing ideas I though worth pursuing.
I had heard that some money could be made through blogging but didn’t know what this involved, or what it took to get even a modest income. My learning curve over the last eight months has been steep. I now have a much more realistic idea of what it takes to be a successful blogger.
How you define success is an individual thing:
- it could mean significant income,
- it could mean huge traffic to your site,
- it could mean developing a loyal readership,
- it could mean developing a small but dedicated community of readers
- it could mean providing a service to readers who access your site
- it could mean all of the above – and more.
Many first time bloggers expect instant success with a big income. The reality is harsh. It takes effort, perseverance, discipline, a business sense and above all, time. In today’s instant society, these are not high on some people’s priority list of desirable qualities.
To read an excellent article explaining this better than I can go to Darren Rowse’s article here: