Tonight, I would like to share a few quick thoughts with you on word choice and revisions. One thing I’ve discovered as I’m pouring over pages I’ve previously written is that I am never quite satisfied. There is always a sentence, a word, or thought that I think I can revise to make it spectacular, although spectacular doesn’t always come. You only stumble upon it once in a blue moon. Revision is a necessary evil in that it makes me crazy, yet it offers a chance to redeem myself if I feel what I’ve written isn’t quite up to par.

Word choice can often mean the difference between a story that “just lays there” or one that “jumps up” and captures the total attention of a reader. I often struggle over word choice, as you can plainly see in the first draft of this so far unnamed tale I’m writing with you.

I do love words, so I guess that’s why I love writing and word choice. There are millions of ways to write the same scene, and millions of ways a reader can respond to the author’s selected word choice. Words can have strong meaning when they stand alone or when they are in a crowd. Simple little words strung together can turn into mysteries, romances, or anything else your fabulous imagination envisions.

Words are also very powerful, and a writer has to take this into account because he or she wields that power over their readers. Words evoke positive and negative emotions, and they are sharper than any sword. Unfortunately, I’ve observed this many times as a parent, a teacher, and a civilized human being.

And yet now, it’s late and my mind has begun to wander, so I will close with a few words that I have taken to heart. These words were written by one of my inspirations, Emily Dickinson. This quote may seem ironic since my post is about revision and word choice, but this is the very essence of what I want to capture when I write… not only the reading and writing of words, but the emotions words awaken. I hope you can feel the words, and you can understand why this quote inspires me.

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” ~ Emily Dickinson