Following up on the Day 21 post on language, I want to note how many people, including Mark Twain (apparently) believe in a magical "perfect" word or words.
Take the Twain quote: "To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself..."
Although it's laudatory to encourage writers to edit their works, every sentence begins with the words you use every day. There's no "secret" to writing or the process. In fact, it's simplicity itself.
Just like learning to walk, we start out slowly and gain more confidence as we build to a run and then learn to slow down again in order to take in the words and world around us. At a point that we can't control or design, our own writing becomes criticism-proof.
This can only happen if we take our time finding the words that are right for us, the rhythms that sing to us and the stories that are written word by word by us because of the sheer pleasure of creation.
Take the Twain quote: "To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself..."
Although it's laudatory to encourage writers to edit their works, every sentence begins with the words you use every day. There's no "secret" to writing or the process. In fact, it's simplicity itself.
Just like learning to walk, we start out slowly and gain more confidence as we build to a run and then learn to slow down again in order to take in the words and world around us. At a point that we can't control or design, our own writing becomes criticism-proof.
This can only happen if we take our time finding the words that are right for us, the rhythms that sing to us and the stories that are written word by word by us because of the sheer pleasure of creation.
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