For the Love of Words

 

                                                                  Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton

From just 26 letters the English language has developed well over a million words. Forming those words into meaningful content that evokes a response from a reader is what keeps writers up at night. Those words wheedle their way in our minds poking and prodding us to get up and write that idea before it floats off into the great beyond.

Yes, words are our tools, but not just any word. It must be the right word. The strongest word.  The most visual word. The most sensual word. The most active word. All the pieces and parts words: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

Sounds overwhelming, but those words, oh, how we love them. They are part of every task we partake in when we are not actually writing: in the laundry room as we fold clothes, in the shower as we wash our hair, at the stop light when a car in front of you rocks from their music. The words circling in our brains are louder. They demand we write them down. 

The answer? Be prepared. Make sure your words have a safety net waiting for their delivery. Hang an erase board in your laundry room.  Write the words in the steam on the shower door. Dictate to your phone in the car. Keep a note book and pencil next to your bed. Keep a magnetic pad on your refrigerator. Have a chalk board in the garden. For the love of words, make sure where ever you are you have what you need to capture those flighty words before they float away. Those lovely words may just lead you to the next New York Best Book of the Year!