More Than Words
By LMReviews on Feb 11, 2009 in Multicultural Writing, Writing/Freelancing
I’m on a temporary assignment where I work swing shift. I start work at the customary lunch hour which gives me time to get some freelance work done in the morning and again at night.
However, you’d never quite anticipate the difficulty in deciding what to eat when you work the noon to eight shift. I tend to do more snacking during that shift than the actual eating of a meal. It was during one of my mindless snacking incidents that I thought about how our senses play such a big part in how we enjoy things. From foods that are addictively flavorful to words that feel good rolling off our tongues when we say them. Our most enjoyable moments begin with how they impact the senses. Our favorite songs have strong beats and catchy choruses that stick in our heads, aromas make our stomachs rumble and our minds transport back to favorite memories, even vibrant color or rich contrasts make us stop and take notice. Certain fabrics are even sought for their touch ability factor.
Now, I was in search of food that had that nibble factor. It’s not messy and it’s small enough to fit within the grasp of my thumb and two first fingers. It brought me to think about writing. Certain home grown phrases definitely have that nibble factor or sticky hook that catches everyone’s attention. How do translate the nibble factor to your writing? Think about words that involve the senses–not just the five we learned about in kindergarten up the sense of our intellect as well. The next time you write a sentence or begin a story ask yourself, does it bounce of the walls of my ear canal? Do the words feel good rolling off my tongue? It’s hard to describe, but you know when a word or phrase tickles your intellect just right. It makes you say “hmmm” or “I want to know more”. Strive to achieve this every time you pound the keys or put pen to paper and your writing will be better for it.
