Hard as it may be to believe, not every writer is as enamoured of words as I am. I love the sound, shape and taste of them (yes, many seem to actually have a taste to them!)
Many writers love concepts and ideas, are great storytellers, create engaging characters, explore signifianct themes and subjects and develop interesting plots. But not everyone is keen to get down, dig deep and pick over each word, making sure it’s doing the job it’s there to do, conveying the idea most clearly, helping define the tone and pace of the piece.
I learned to love wordsmithing from reading works by Dickens, Rumer Godden, Hemingway, Margaret Wise Brown, Rudyard Kipling, Karma Wilson, Dr. Seuss. William Mayne, Anthony Doer, Dylan Thomas, Maya Angelou, Anne Kenyon, Mary Oliver… From hearing my father read aloud, and a high school teacher reciting Chaucer in Middle English, from animated children’s storytime readers and adult storytellers, from lyricists and poets, bible-thumping minsters and political orators, children and elders, and everyone whose work I have read or heard.
The writing teacher and author Gary Provost explored many elements of language in his book Make Your Words Work; his classic piece ‘This Sentence Has Five Words’ is always worth revisiting. Oregon editor and writing instructor Elizabeth Lyon digs deep into diction and syntax in many of her writing books. A new book I recently discovered Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase by Mark Forsythe takes words, language and its meanings seriously. And in a recent presentation called ‘Sound, Sense and Shape – The Work of Our Words’ author Sutta Crum provided a highly engaging and useful look at the power of words to shape meaning and tone.
In my opinion, every word counts. And every time I come across a wonderful piece of writing, or a teacher who makes the point eloquently by sharing examples along with their own passion for language, I am reminded once again to slow down and look closer at every word I commit to the page.
Edited to add the link to this useful presentation by Pat Zeitlow Miller – ‘When Less is More’.