The Power of Writing

There is something amazing about books.

It's something that we may not think about each time we crack open a book, or turn those e-readers on, but the power of words is incredible.

They can start conversations; they can start wars.
Books can bring people together, and tear people apart.

This past week in Burma, a revolution took place - a Literary Festival. 

Burma has a dark history, but we won't go into that here. It is, however, important to note that Burma isn't known for independence, especially freedom of speech. Most citizens have never been exposed to any books other than censored classics approved by the government. Political prisoners are by the dozen and many include poets, authors, and artists.  Famous political prisoner and Nobel laureate and author, Aung San Suu Kyi, was the patron of the festival. Known for her outspoken opposition of the Burmese government and sentenced house arrest for the last 20 years, Aung said of the importance of reading, "[Reading] gives you a chance to understand how other people think, and what kind of experiences other people have been through," she said. "And it also helps you to cope with your own life." 

The festival, no doubt, was a giant step in Burma's attempt towards freedom of her people. Authors from all over the world came together to give workshops and just discuss the written word. What an amazing feat, in a nation that has been blemished with wars and restricting her people to even the smallest of freedoms - books. It seems indeed that the word is mightier than the sword.

What can we learn from the extraordinary people of Burma? For one thing, if you're a writer, you should feel extremely fortunate to have the freedom to write whatever you want, whenever you want. If you're a reader, feel fortunate that you can read whatever you want whenever you want. But I think we can learn something else. With the invention of social media, text messaging, even email, we've lost something: Conversation.

Obviously we all converse, and we have deep meaningful discussions, but where did the days go when people gathered to discuss literature? Unless you're a sophomore in high school, or a current English major, you probably don't participate in a group of open literature discussion. I would love to sit around, sipping on tea and eating tarts, and just discussing today's literature (or lack thereof). And attending a three-day literary festival??? Wow! That would be awesome! 

What are your thoughts on social media's impact on literary discussion? Do you agree with me, or do you think that today's innovative technology allows for more discussion? You may point out that through this blog, we've engaged in a sort of conversation around literature, and you'd be correct. But I often think of Lord Byron's "get togethers" where he'd bring writers to his villa and they'd discuss books and even have writing contests (at which Frankenstein was born), and I think about how I should do something like that! And why not? Maybe we can all throw our own mini literary festivals! (If you do throw one, you have to let us know!)

Is there a current bestseller you'd like to discuss? How about the influx of books being turned into movies? There are discussions to be had! Go out there and have them! Spread the word! 

And to all you writers out there, take the advice of 17 year old Aung Zin, the winner of the Burmese Literary Festival Contest, who said, "Don't be afraid. Just write."

Happy Reading and Writing!

Weed Words? I Don't Need No Stinkin' Weed Words!

As a writer you are constantly hearing the professionals talk about “tight writing.”  I thought I knew what this meant: have a good story with no loose ends.  Wrong!  I didn't understand what the term meant, until Backspace entered my life.

Tight writing keeps the reader in the story; the tighter the writing, the tighter your hold.  Okay, but what does it mean?  It means stay far, far, far, away from words that clutter your sentence.   Writers tend to like these words, they make us feel warm and fuzzy inside.  But beware; these words are evil little infiltrators that love sneaking into your sentences and muddling them.  Muddled sentences are bad.

Here’s a little exercise for you.  Take a page from whatever project you’re currently working on and see how many of these words you find:

About

All

Almost

As

Very

Only

Just

That 

These, Literati, are referred to as “weed words.”  Don’t Google the term though, you’ll be assaulted by pages and pages of links about marijuana.  True story.  A side note: Janet Reid, literary agent extraordinaire, refers to removing these words as a “that-ectomy,” essentially removing the word “that” from your writing.  But wait!  There are more evil infiltrators!  Adverbs and adjectives and infinitives...oh my!

What are the first ten rules of creative writing?  Anyone?  Anyone? Bueller?  Rules one through ten are the same: Show, don’t tell.   But what does it mean????  Allow me to drop some knowledge (thank you David L. Robbins!). 

She waited anxiously.

She sat waiting, biting her nails and shaking her leg. 

In the first example, the writer is telling the reader the character is anxious; in the second example, the writer is showing the reader that the character is anxious. 

 
Bottom line, we are storytellers and our readers want a good story, they long for one!  You’re a reader, you know this.  Our goal is to capture the reader and pull him/her into our story.  Make the story believable, create strong characters, and kill those weed words.  Weed words take a reader out of the story. 

Stay tuned for the first installation of the Fairytale Series (tomorrow) as well as more notes from Backspace, including details from David L. Robbins’ seminar.   If you are a writer, this is a MUST READ.

As always, happy reading and writing!

 

The Most Beautiful Words

Think fast: What is your favorite word? 

What makes that word, out of the three quarters of a million English words, your absolute favorite?  Is it the definition or the sound or perhaps a memory? 

I have a plethora of most desired and quintessential words, but I think my all time favorite word is “cake”! 

“Cake?” You ask.  Sure, and let me tell you why.  First, say it aloud, now, don’t rush through it!  Take a deep breath and when you exhale, say, “cake.”   For me, it’s the hard c and k sounds frosted with the soft and romantic “a” in the middle.  I love the sound of it.  But, there’s more.  Cake is a good word; nothing bad can come from cake.  Cake brings memories of parties, celebrations, and sweet aromas wafting in the kitchen.  Not to mention that they’re topped with a delicious light and fluffy icing that seduces your tongue and washes away any lingering feelings of remorse or sadness.  Cake is the embodiment of happiness.

I found this list of the 100 Most Beautiful Words in English, unfortunately, “cake” is not on the list, and neither are addled, malarky, or muse.  However, some of my other favorites are, including (and who doesn’t like this one?): onomatopoeia.  One of the best words ever!  (In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve used some of my favorite words above and painted them in red font.)

Take a look at the list and let me know what you think!  Also, I’d love to hear what your favorite word is and why!  Happy reading and writing!

(The following list was created by Dr. Robert Beard, a connoisseur of dictionaries and word lists.)

1.       Ailurophile

2.       Assemblage

3.       Becoming

4.       Beleaguer

5.       Brood

6.       Bucolic

7.       Bungalow

8.       Chatoyant

9.       Comely

10.   Conflate

11.   Cynosure

12.   Dalliance

13.   Demesne

14.   Demure

15.   Denouement

16.   Desuetude

17.   Desultory

18.   Dissemble

19.   Dulcet

20.   Ebullience

21.   Effervescent

22.   Efflorescence

23.   Elision

24.   Elixir

25.   Eloquence

26.   Embrocation

27.   Emollient

28.   Ephemeral

29.   Epiphany

30.   Erstwhile

31.   Ethereal

32.   Evanescent

33.   Evocative

34.   Fethching

35.   Felicity

36.   Forbearance

37.   Fugacious

38.   Furtive

39.   Gambol

40.   Glamour

41.   Halcyon

42.   Harbinger

43.   Imbrication

44.   Imbroglio

45.   Imbue

46.   Incipient

47.   Ineffable

48.   Ingénue

49.   Inglenook

50.   Insouciance

51.   Inure

52.   Labyrinthine

53.   Lagniappe

54.   Lagoon

55.   Languor

56.   Lassitude

57.   Leisure

58.   Lilt

59.   Lissome

60. f  Lithe

61.   Love

62.   Mellifluous

63.   Moiety

64.   Mondegreen

65.   Mumurous

66.   Nemesis

67.   Offing

68.   Onomatopoeia

69.   Opulent

70.   Palimpsest

71.   Panacea

72.   Panoply

73.   Pastiche

74.   Penumbra

75.   Petrichor

76.   Plethora

77.   Propinquity

78.   Pyrrhic

79.   Quintessential

80.   Ratatouille (I don’t know how this one counts, since it’s a French dish...)

81.   Ravel

82.   Redolent

83.   Riparian

84.   Ripple

85.   Scintilla

86.   Sempiternal

87.   Seraglio

88.   Serendipity

89.   Summery

90.   Sumptuous

91.   Surreptitious

92.   Susquehanna

93.   Susurrous

94.   Talisman

95.   Tintinnabulation

96.   Umbrella

97.   Untoward

98.   Vestigial

99.   Wherewithal

100.      Woebegone