~Words Matter~

File Under 'A Ha!'

by Rosalind Foley on 09/11/13

From Eudora Welty in One Writer's Beginnings: "In writing, as in life, the connections of all sorts of relationships and kinds lie in wait of discovery, and give out signals to the Geiger counter of the charged imagination, once it is drawn into the right field."

Note: What a telling phrase, that "Geiger counter of the charged imagination."

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To Read or Not to Read

by Rosalind Foley on 08/19/13

In my youth I was compulsive about reading to the finish any book I started. If the author could go to the trouble to write it, the least I could do was plod to the last page no matter how tedious. I even looked down on abridged versions.

Then I read something that changed my thinking. I believe it was Caryll Houselander who wrote to the effect that with all the books in the world it is possible for an individual to read only a few. Each is a choice and should be worthwhile in some way because it means there will not be time for another.

Now, if I pick up a book that is poorly written, boring or offensive, I quietly put it aside with no guilt at all and move on to something more profitable.

It's true: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

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Worth Heeding

by Rosalind Foley on 08/09/13

Einstein is quoted as having said, "Never lose a holy curiosity." That's good advice for writers as well as scientists.

In Germany on a Rotary Group Study Exchange, one of my guides told my host "She asks a lot of questions."

It's how you learn, if you listen.

Keep open your eyes of wonder. Enjoy surprises. It's how you see beyond the obvious. How many colors are there in a banana?

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Getting Acquainted

by Rosalind Foley on 08/07/13

with a new computer after the laptop crashed. Bear with me, please.

Meanwhile, ponder this:

"A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts, the other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket." Charles Peguy

As I've already stated, I'm the kind who has to chisel.

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Setting the Tone

by Rosalind Foley on 07/12/13

An aspect of writing I've been mulling lately is tone, which, if not synonymous with voice, is closely related. Maybe voice is WHO is telling the tale and tone is HOW.

A friend is writing a mystery with a sassy female protagonist named Odyssey. Odyssey's Texas twang and folksy speech fairly strum off the page. You know from the first words to expect something light and fun.

Tone can be playful, even flippant, or somber. It can be slangy or formal, personal or aloof. It's your emotional introduction into the world the author is creating for you. Next time you start a book, notice how the tone is set.

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