By
Sarah Reichert
Word.
It’s an odd little combination of letters. Short but important. Napoleonic, if you will.
A word communicates meaning, represents
objects or ideas, and infers talk or discourse.
Written
and spoken words are humankind’s greatest contribution to the success of our survival as a species. Words conveyed vital information (don’t eat that berry,
its bad juju; twenty buffalo are lounging South of the river, etc.) Humans avoided poisoning, passed down medical remedies,
shared weather and herd movement, and offered verbal and written traditions,
which allowed for the creation and maintenance of our society and culture.
Words are important to all of us. They can be dangerous and hurtful. Words can
be powerful and cathartic. Words fill
out the shape of our memories, and build ideas like mortar and bricks build
lasting foundations. We can fear words;
we can loathe them. We can respect them
or embrace them. We can be indifferent
to them. Written words, in their
elemental form, can hold infinite meaning to all who read them, because
they are filtered through each human consciousness and experiences. “My heart hurts,” means different things to a cardio-thoracic surgeon than it does a hopeless romantic.
But more
than just the collection of letters and morphemes, a "word" also means a promise. A person gives their word, a sworn intention
to do something. Writers give their words and therefore their promises through their work. We promise our readers that we’ll give all of our hearts to our craft, and that we’ll invest the time to do it right. We make a promise of meaning, a promise of depth, a
promise to describe but not hinder, and a promise to provoke thought and feeling. Above all, we promise to give something to the reader for the time they invest in us, and
our work.
Words
are your tools. Some of them are dull
from overuse. Some of them are so
obscure and unique that readers will need a dictionary to understand what
context doesn’t define. (I love getting
a chance to learn new words this way, but don’t do it too often, or you come
off as pompous and self-important.) Make
sure the words that you’re choosing, mean what you think they do. Make sure they convey the feeling of your
work, as closely as possible. String your words together with “great care and tact” as Dr. Suess would
recommend. They are our promise to the
world for the best story we have within us.
What are some of your favorite words?
3 comments:
My favorite word these days is serendipity. Synchronicity runs a close second. And I love segue, now that I finally learned how to pronounce it. It appears most of my favorite words begin with "S" -- I don't know why.
I love those words! Serendipity is fun to say and has such a hopeful ring to it. I always loved 'enigmatic", but its really hard to find a place to use it. Thanks for your response, Patricia.
My word, that's a powerful post! You don't have to take my word for it. One of my favorite words is "Word," as in "the Word made flesh." For Christians that's a powerful statement of faith, i.e., the Word, namely "the Promise," (as you have explained), made human. Thanks, Sarah, for reminding me. Sorry if that's a bit heavy on theology but it is Sunday, and that was my association.
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