The Right Word

I am so sorry for the late post. I feel like this summer is spiraling out of control. I've had family in town and my thoughts have been elsewhere. 

 

   Last week my parents came into town. It's the first I've seen my mom in a year, and two years since I've seen my dad. As I hugged my dad he said something very simple, yet it struck me so profoundly. He said, "I've missed you so much." I know this might seem silly, and I supposed it would be the expected thing to hear a parent tell their child after such a separation, but he didn't just say he missed me. He said he missed me SO much. I realized how much power and emotion a tiny, seemingly simple word can express. It got me thinking about my writing and I found myself asking "Are we using words that convey the emotion we are trying to express in our story?" or "Is there a word that works better than what we've used?" The right word can be so important. To be honest it's something I get hung up on more than I'd like to admit.

   The next night I was in bed thinking on this same thing and a similar thought came to me. "Are these words that I'm trying so hard to find giving the right perspective?" I know as writers we all want the reader to not just understand the concept of our story, we want them to be submerged in the story, feeling what our characters feel. Isn't that why we write? To share the amazing stories going on in our heads? I know that's why Ashley and I write. After all this late night thinking with all these thoughts zipping around in my brain in a very jumbled manner I finally came to the conclusion that I need to work on bringing what's going on TO my character. I know that sometimes it's easy to loose some of the excitement when a story is told in third person and the juicy wonderful emotions can become dry and boring when everything is being narrated. My personal writing goal is to find and use words that bring all that breathtaking and exhilarating emotion right into the spotlight where the reader can drink it in and experience it for themselves.