Words
It's really hard to find a good word to express an idea. Then, once you find it, is it even the right word? Mark Twain wrote that the difference between the right word and wrong one is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug (come to think of it, that is a line out of a Jimmy Buffet song, too.)
There is so much to consider. The semantics of a word--what does it imply? What is the definition? What does it commonly mean? The book "The Writer's Art" , by James Kilpatrick delves into the mysteries of proper English usage, showing all the words and phrases we misuse and sometimes overuse on a daily basis.
Then there is the challenge of finding the word that has the perfect balance of simplicity and semantic meaning, the one that says exactly what the writer wants it to say and causes the reader to feel exactly as the writer wants them to feel.
Ernest Hemingway was a master of this. He used what he referred to as the "iceberg theory", where the word itself was simple and small, but what was under the surface of that word--its meanings and connotations, were immense. In the book "Write Like Hemingway" , author R. Andrew Wilson explores how Papa Hemingway worked this bit of magic. Both Wilson and Kilpatrick are good things for a newbie author to read, I think.
So what brings this to mind? I made it a point to tour and explore Hemingway's Key West home during my trip last week. I don't know if I was hoping that some of the literary magic would rub off on me, but it couldn't hurt to try, could it?
It seems that, as a newbie writer, that is my biggest challenge, finding the right word. Not the one that is overused to the point of being cliche', nor the one that sends the reader running for a dictionary. The one that acquaints the reader with experiences they don't know by relying on the ones they do. The one whose meaning in the context of the story is the largest part of the iceberg, the part that is unseen. Lightning, not a lightning bug.
A good friend and former co-worker is a well known local poet. I am not a poet, but I do admire the economy of words in a well written poem--it says as much as possible in as few words as possible. My friend moderates a poetry group at our local library one evening a month. I think I will join the group.
There is so much to consider. The semantics of a word--what does it imply? What is the definition? What does it commonly mean? The book "The Writer's Art" , by James Kilpatrick delves into the mysteries of proper English usage, showing all the words and phrases we misuse and sometimes overuse on a daily basis.
Then there is the challenge of finding the word that has the perfect balance of simplicity and semantic meaning, the one that says exactly what the writer wants it to say and causes the reader to feel exactly as the writer wants them to feel.
Ernest Hemingway was a master of this. He used what he referred to as the "iceberg theory", where the word itself was simple and small, but what was under the surface of that word--its meanings and connotations, were immense. In the book "Write Like Hemingway" , author R. Andrew Wilson explores how Papa Hemingway worked this bit of magic. Both Wilson and Kilpatrick are good things for a newbie author to read, I think.
So what brings this to mind? I made it a point to tour and explore Hemingway's Key West home during my trip last week. I don't know if I was hoping that some of the literary magic would rub off on me, but it couldn't hurt to try, could it?
It seems that, as a newbie writer, that is my biggest challenge, finding the right word. Not the one that is overused to the point of being cliche', nor the one that sends the reader running for a dictionary. The one that acquaints the reader with experiences they don't know by relying on the ones they do. The one whose meaning in the context of the story is the largest part of the iceberg, the part that is unseen. Lightning, not a lightning bug.
A good friend and former co-worker is a well known local poet. I am not a poet, but I do admire the economy of words in a well written poem--it says as much as possible in as few words as possible. My friend moderates a poetry group at our local library one evening a month. I think I will join the group.
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| Ernest Hemingway's desk in his Key West study. Many of his best known works were written right at this very desk. |
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