Hope
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
I woke up this morning thinking about word choice. So, as you do, I looked up my favorite Emily Dickinson poem. Because I can't imagine anyone who knows more about word choice than Miss Dickinson.
When I was in college, I fancied myself a poet, and used to challenge myself by drawing the outline of a rabbit with one line. I tried not to lift the pencil from the paper or cross one line over the other, and the goal was to convey as much life as I could in the sparest of drawings.
Drawing and writing might not be an obvious link, but the connection is real. I picture drawing that rabbit when I'm writing short stories, as I'm pruning away anything that isn't essential. I googled 'word choice' and found a quote that I like. "With good word choice, the writer creates a mental picture for the reader by using words that are specific and accurate." (From: Kim's Korner 4 Teacher Talk)
Specific & accurate. Those are important concepts when you're trying to tell the truth about an imaginary situation. There's never any doubt the Emily Dickinson's words said exactly what she meant them to say, though for the rest of us, finding that level of discipline is a life-long process.
I don't really have any answers today. Mostly questions: how do you approach word choice? How do you know when the you're using the most specific and accurate words possible for a given situation?
Peace,
Liv
Flying Bird by Jiri Hodan
I love Emily Dickinson and this particular poem. Word choice is so very important. Sometimes I will labor over one word for hours or days, especially if I know in my gut that the 'right' one is eluding me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I can explain how I approach word choice. It's an instinctive experience I'm usually not conscious of unless something strikes me as wrong. I do know that when choosing words, I often consider more than their exact meaning--I also think about how they contribute to writing's rhythm, and I also try to make sure I'm not repeating words too close together in ways that stand out.
ReplyDeleteFor me, word choice is mostly about voice, that elusive thing Kristen Lamb has been writing about lately. And like Mike noted, it is also about the rhythm of the prose. I'm not saying I'm good at it, but that's what I strive for in my writing.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great question, Liv, and yet one I find impossible to answer. I love words for their power to convey all that stuff rolling around in our heads, whether it be thoughts, feelings, sights, taste ...
ReplyDeleteAnd yet,for me, choosing the right one to fit whatever it is I'm striving to communicate comes down to something of a mystical, near miraculous, unknown. They come from places I can't always reach on demand. I only know that I most often recognize the right one when it arrives.
I know what you mean, Sheila, and when you find it, it's a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
It's amazing how much difference a word can make to the way the sentence feels, so yeah, Mike, I get what you're saying. There's a balance between meaning and sound that's important.
ReplyDeleteThanks...
From what I've read on your blog, Tami, you've got a handle on the voice thing. Or, Benedict does, and you just channel him.
ReplyDelete;)
Thanks for checking in.
"They come from places I can't always reach on demand."
ReplyDeleteThat's the trick, isn't it - learning how to draw from those places when they don't want to cooperate? I think it's a lifelong process of learning.
Thanks, Barbara!
I like the way Anne Lamont puts it in BIRD BY BIRD.
ReplyDeleteSomething like: she is the person holding the lantern while the kid does the digging.
She doesn't know: "what the kid is digging for half the time, but she knows gold when she sees it."
I spend a lot of time considering word choice, though I usually reserve that for the second draft. I think it is critical to get the first draft down, though I do try to make it as good as I can. Then I pay close attention to each word as I go back through and look for things that don't come across exactly as I like or that just don't sound right. Then I spend time on dictionary.com and thesaurus.com. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Yeah, too many thoughs in that comment. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWord choice! I consider that the 'desert' part of writing. Finding just the right word to convey a feeling, setting or reaction. More please.
ReplyDeleteDiana
I hear the story being read in my mind - whether it's narration or dialog - and write it down as I hear it. I only change the words if the voice in my head keeps using the same ones over and over.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I sound psychotic...
I don't remember that line, Suzanne, but it's an awesome image. Thanks so much for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteTwo "though's", one "through" and several cool ideas. Thanks Nikki!
ReplyDelete;)
"I consider that the 'desert' part of writing"
ReplyDeleteAmen. It's the toughest part - as several of you have suggested - but it's the coolest.
Thanks Diana!
I think we all share a version of your psychosis, Kim. You're among friends.
ReplyDelete;)
Lovely post Liv and so very important. I'd never pick up a pencil and try to draw but I guess my equivalent exercise could be writing and studying haiku. When you change a word the difference it can make is startling - the whole image just settles into place (or not!)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the image settling into place, Margaret. And you're right - you know when it's there, and when it's not.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I have a very bad habit of saying something, then saying it again in different words and sometimes again. I think it is my process of trying to get to the perfect word choice because I'm always editing for that. Then I use the Thesaurus and reword it again, oh and maybe one more time. . . or two.
ReplyDelete