This week has been a busy one, writing-wise. I've been attending WriteOnCon, which is a free, online writers conference for people who write for children (PB, MG, YA). If you write for kids and didn't attend, get thee to the website and read through everything, because there was some seriously good info there.
I also entered my query and first page for an agent/reader crit over at Mother. Write. Repeat. From both of these wonderful sources, I gleaned one very important piece of information. The query I've been using (the umpteenth rewrite of said query) sucks hard. Turns out it's not easy to write a query for a multiple POV book. Who knew? (Me, that's who.) There were, however, some very kind words offered on my first pages, so that was good.
Speaking of words... (See what I did there?)
In two completely unrelated places, I heard two completely unrelated people say that they swear all the time and never worry about it because curse words are "just words." The implication being that words are words and it doesn't matter which ones you use, none should be more offensive or inoffensive than another. And I went postal. Mentally. I would never do that literally, FBI, so just get off my back! *ahem*
But seriously, just words? There are no "just words."
Words are the audible embodiment of thoughts and feelings. Every word uttered has an effect on someone, even if you're talking to yourself. You don't stub your toe and say, Oh HAM, that hurt! Because the word ham does not provide the same level of catharsis as, say, a good old-fashioned f-bomb.
Similarly, you don't propose to your sweetheart by telling them you're fond of them. Because your sweetheart is not in Gone with the Wind and would generally prefer that you love them. It's not just a word, its an expression of emotion, and it stirs emotion in others.
Listen, I'm not saying everyone should drop curse words from their vocabulary, quite the opposite. Curse all you want (but not in the mall, please, my kids don't need to hear that). But suggesting that Bruce Willis's career would have been the same if his line had been, "Yippee-ki-yay, buddy boy," is just silly.
Words are important. And I'm not just saying that because I hope to make them my bread and butter some day.
*steps off high horse*
Right. Exercise time.
WEEKLY PROMPT:
Write a scene between a man and a woman where traditional gender roles are reversed. You can extend this to other traditionally disparate groups, as well (i.e. parent/child).
What are some of your favorite words?
I just learned a new word that I like a lot mostly because it expresses something very specific:
ReplyDeleteexsanguinated - to be drained of blood
Macabre - eh?
I've always liked exsanguinated. Great word for a horror writer. :)
DeleteTotally agree with you. Now, I've been known to let a few swear words slip every so often. They have their place. But, as you say, not in the mall. Or in front of small children (your own or anyone else's). I spent many a year substituting "gosh darn it" and "fudge" for what I was really inclined to say. I have to admit, it's nice now that my kiddos are grown, and I don't have to be quite as careful around them.
ReplyDeleteI'm a dagnabbit and crikey fan, myself. I just don't think there's any reason to blast questionable language in public. It's a family show, y'know?
DeleteI like discombobulated. And hypnagogic. I don't get to work either of them into my YA novel much tho!
ReplyDeleteOooh! You could totally make a whole story out of hypnagogic. I bet all sorts of creepy things could happen in the hypnagogic state. That's a good one.
DeleteI did recently write "thrum" in a post and a friend emailed to ask if I actually meant to use it. He had looked it up, and wasn't convinced it was the right word for my passage. WELL. I was thrilled I'd made him look it up, because he's a Mister Smarty Lawyer Pants, and I had indeed meant to use it, as much for its sound as its meaning. Sometimes I just use words for their rhythm in the sentence. Sue me.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of swear words, although I don't use them in any particularly creative fashion. Still, there's something truly satisfying about saying "MOTH-ER-FUCK-ER!" when the occasion permits.
He had to look up thrum? I used that word at least seven times in my last MS (it was a character trait). Wow. But, you know, the rhythm of a sentence is almost as important as its meaning. If your rhythm is off, people will mentally stumble when reading your work. Very important.
DeleteOh I thought it was just me and my hyper-Virgo-ness! Words are SO damn important. SO!
ReplyDeleteWith the current planetary mess going on some communication issues have arisen. The correct, and proper, word makes ALL the difference. Also, I never swear at the mall.
One of my favorite words is really a place, and one of my very first blog posts.
PEA PATCH ISLAND
(Sounds better than it is though.)
Ok, now I have to go look up Pea Patch Island. Also, I'm a Virgo, too, so I don't know if the fact that we agree proves anything. ;)
DeleteAh true, we are a poor sampling. Not a lot can be gained, scientifically anyway, by two Virgos agreeing on verbage.
DeleteAnd hey, I just looked up Pea Patch Island. It's been a while since I did that, and apparently I was only remembering the bad history part, and not the newer, ecologically cool parts. So. I still love the name, but now I feel slightly better about the entire thing.
Maya Angelou would agree with you. When she was a child she stopped talking for a year or more because she thought something she'd said had killed a man.
ReplyDeleteMotherfucker is definitely my fave. Got it from Prince, growing up. Someone even wrote a book on its history and sociological usage.
Alas, Maya Angelou is a more sensitive soul than I. :)
DeleteThe research for that book must have been something else.
Words can be soooo powerful, can't they? One only has to overhear a couple squabbling to know that. They are the sharpest of weapons when tempers flare and the softest of caresses when people feel good with one another.
ReplyDeleteThat's why we're writers, isn't it? To be able to impart emotions in people you've never met is a powerful thing.
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