Your words mirror who you are as a person or as an organization. They can motivate a room of like-minded individuals or bring consensus to a roomful of opposition. Their use will illuminate something real or make real something imaginary. Words are powerful magic.
Do you recall the first time those words were said to you? I do. Distinctly. Being scolded amidst a rude sibling exchange, my mother once asked me to use my words. Looking up at her, I replied seriously, “Idiot IS a word.” My impertinence aside, the lesson was an important one. I continue to use her phrase frequently with the intent of creating permission.
To Write
Use your words. By far my favorite emphasis. Words can be used successfully and thoughtfully. Three words can say what fifteen words may not. Intent is the driver here. Have words work for you. Use the thesaurus tab in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Search, research, feed your vocabulary.
Use your words. The words you grew up hearing have taken root in your personal word library. The ones you learned along the way to never say, or to say frequently. Natural to you, ready for use at any time. You own the words you use. They are yours to use as you wish. Your ownership of them brings consequences, good and bad, which you own as well. Natalie Goldberg, in her book The Wild Mind, speaks of Writing Practice. It works! As you look to find your words and make them your own, your “voice” emerges. Your writing voice. Where you use your words the way you want to.
Use your words. Words are a powerful healer. The more you write through the layers of surface words – the ones that are at the ready to tell you how hard it is to write – you will find a well of words sitting deeper within you. As you write and empty your mind and heart of the surface words, the words you “feel” will come; they will introduce themselves to you when you least expect it, and that layer will bring out your story.
Your Internal Editor
A teacher once crossed out an entire paragraph and scrawled “IRRELEVANT” across it. Another circled a paragraph and wrote, “Let’s discuss”. They were my first editors. Much was learned from both. The latter’s curiosity and understanding of intent brought out the best in my vocabulary, articulation, and storytelling. I model my editorial journey similarly. When one writes, it is usually with intent. Lists to remember, a presentation to convince, a speech to impress, a poem to ease grief, a life story to tell. Your voice may not sound like anyone else’s, your words, though similar, may mean something different. That is the point.
Your internal editor sits as guardian, no matter the emphasis, weighing in, sometimes with a heavy hand, pushing your intent a little to the left or right of where you want to be. In the next 30 days, when many focus on National Novel Writing Month and their 50,000-word journey, some may struggle with getting to one hundred. Permit yourself to pour your words out on paper, regardless of word count or expectations. One hundred words will lead to more. Permit yourself to use your words.
#NaNoWriMo #storytelling #useyourwords #businessediting #copyediting #proofreading