A Beautiful Word

I've been thinking about the beauty of words. How some words create images in and of themselves. And as I looked over the list of 100 Beautiful Words (see my previous blog), I realized there are words that speak beauty and nobility to me, words that contain so much meaning and emotion that I'm moved or challenged or convicted when they whisper through my mind and heart. Lately, one word has been doing all of that:

Integrity.

Even as I write it, I feel my heart move. So much is contained in that word. So much that has blessed people, so much that seems lost on today's world.

Before I go any further, though, I want to know what that word means/says to you.

What is integrity? Where do you see it? What does it mean to the world today?

Look forward to your thoughts!

Karen

Beautiful Words...100 of Them!

I'm still pondering the article on being purposeful in our word choices and use. As someone who has studied other languages (French, Spanish, and Russian), I love the physicality of words.When you speak either French or Russian, your whole lower face gets a work out. It's as though you're tasting the words as well as speaking them.

Happily, English has words like that as well. Consider the following:

• impecunious
• circuitous
• mellifluous
• exsanguinate
• ebullient
• flummery

Words like these are not only fun to use, they're fun to say. The feel of some even reflects their meaning. Impecunious has a tight, stingy feel to it. Mellifluous rolls off the tongue. Flummery feels a bit foolish as it escapes you.

I was trolling the internet, just looking for articles on felicitous (there's another one!) words, and came across a delightful site: The 100 Most Beautiful Words in the English Language.

Writers, Readers, Word Lovers, do yourselves a favor and check it out! I had a blast just trying to pronounce some of them. And I thought there were several that should have been on the list. How about you? I'll share my words after some of you share yours.

Blessings--and beautiful words--to you today.

Karen

The Beauty of (True) Words

I was challenged a few days ago to read an article by Marilyn McEntyre entitled "Letting Words Do Their Work." Because I respected the fellow editor who made the recommendation, I hopped right on over the the link.

Oh. My. Golly.

So much powerful truth contained in this article. If you're a writer, speaker, reader, or simply one who loves--truly loves--words, you've got to read this article.

Here are a few salient points that resonated:

"It is hard to tell the truth these days, because the varieties of untruth are so many, so pervasive, and so well disguised."

"Imprecision had become acceptable in the interests of generalized good feeling—and perhaps in the interests of forestalling some critical scrutiny."

"The practice of precision requires not only attentiveness and effort: it may also require the courage to afflict the comfortable and, consequently, tolerate their resentment."

"The discourse of the church, the subtleties of biblical language and the nuances of translation, the ear for poetry and care for theological distinctions may be eroded when the language of popular media is allowed to overtake the dialect of worship and conversation among believers."

"We can practice noticing how words are used and considering how they may be heard; we can pick them up from the dusty corners where most of the good ones have been consigned to disuse and reintroduce them, hoping to ambush the careless listener contented with cliché."

Check out the article and let me know what you think.

Karen

Got News?

I found an interesting report that shows the public today thinks the media is more wrong than right. You can review the report yourself, or listen to an interview about the report.

I remember the days when media reported news. When they dug in and found the facts, then disseminated it to us without bias. Walter Cronkite is still, to my mind, the quintessential reporter. He gave us the facts. Plain, simple, and powerfully true. And as a result, he was named in a poll as the "most trusted man in America." I can't think of anyone in the media today that I trust that much.

So what do you think? Where do you get your news and do you trust what you hear? How do we find journalists who report news rather than twist and turn it with commentary until you're not sure what's real and what's clearly bias? Is that even possible in today's abundantly opinionated world?

Let me know what you think.

Karen

A Magical Friendship

I've always considered friendship--true friendship--a gift. Something heaven sprinkles into our lives here on earth to enrich and encourage. You can't manufacture or fake true friendship. It's almost a little bit of magic that comes into your life, usually when you least expect it.

Well, here is an example of exactly that! My brother, Kevin, directed me to this video, and I'm still smiling.

Enjoy!

Karen

Princess Bride--Perfectly Paced Pt. 2

I could wax eloquent on this, but there's no need. The marvelous writer, Vicki Hinze, has done so already. (Check it out here.)

But I can give you a couple of tools to try. Or, as Inigo put it so well, "Let me 'splain. No, there ees too much. Let me sum up":

• Have your computer read your scene to you. I find that listening to my story reveals a great deal, especially where the pacing is too laborious or too frenetic.
• If you don't have a good voice program on your computer, read it out loud and record it. Or have a friend do so. Then listen to it.
  
• Keep an eye out for scenes that lose your interest as the writer. If you're in the middle of a scene and suddenly realize you haven't a clue why you're there, or what you're hoping that scene does, take a look at pacing. It could be you've been, to follow Vicki's comparison, yelling or whispering too long. Too much of either can lose readers.
• Finally, pull out one of your own favorite movies. Watch it once, all the way through, so you can remember why you love it. Then watch it again and evaluate the pacing. Notice what they use to speed up the pace and to slow it down. See what you can learn from it.
  

Hope that helps!

Karen

Princess Bride--Perfectly Paced

You know, one of the most common mistakes we writers make is the dreaded sagging middle. No, I'm not talking about what happens after years of sitting at a computer, but about what happens when your story seems to run out of steam halfway through. We do pretty well at beginning and ends--heck, we work on those like crazy. But that darned middle can be so deadly.

Therein lies yet another reason I love The Princess Bride. The pacing is brilliant. We ease into the story, and then it's off to the races. But moments of humor and romance are all brought at just the right time to give us a rest. Consider the fire swamp scene.

Here Westley & Buttercup are, heading into the dreaded fire swamp. We know something bad is coming...just listen to the music! (You know, I've often said if life only came with a soundtrack, we'd know when to watch out for things!) Sure enough, the fire spurt erupts, as does Buttercup's dress. But Westley's calm as he puts the fire out, and his confident smile as he says, "There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" brings the tension down. Next, the lightning sand swallows Buttercup, and the tension soars. Westley cuts a vine loose and dives in after her. Following are seconds that seem like lifetimes (and that allow the ROUS to come snuffing about), but then, music swells as Westley pulls them both free. We lie on the ground, gasping along with them, grateful for the few moments to recover. Finally they walk along, calm, in good humor, talking about how they've overcome the hazards even as Westley gracefully lifts Buttercup over said hazard. It's a lovely walk in the forest now. Until (ominous music, please), the ROUS attacks! Tension sky rockets as the beast sinks his overbite into Westley's shoulder! We're on the edge of the seat until that final jab of the sword and the end of the hideous ROUS. Westley and Buttercup hang on to each other, then rise and walk from the fire swamp, a bit bloodied but alive. Ahh...time to relax.

Oh, wait. Here comes Humperdink!

And on it goes, ebbing and flowing, just enough to keep us both engrossed and relieved. Of course, one of the greatest pacing tools is the scenes between the grandpa and grand son. (Remember, "Hold it! Hold it! Is this a kissing book?")

So how do we, as writers, ensure the right pacing in our books? Well, I have a few ideas. But first, let's hear from you.