" 'O Tiger-lily,' said Alice, addressing herself to one that was waving gracefully about in the wind. 'I wish you could talk!' 'We can talk,' said the Tiger-lily, 'when there's anybody worth talking to.' Alice was so astonished that she could not speak for a minute: it seemed to take her breath away." --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
My tiger lilies have done just that for me this year, taken my breath away. I have one particular orange clump in a small flower bed that has thirty blossoms on it. Thirty! Astonishing. Each day a new bud opened up until the whole thing seemed to be on fire.
In honor of my tiger lily and her thirty blossoms--in no way do I have a green thumb so this is just a marvel to me--and in honor of words that might, just might, help us writers bloom, here's my version of "Thirty Words for a Writer."
May they help plant seeds for worthwhile gardens of words to come...
Thirty Words for Writers
1. write
2. read
3. play
4. persevere
5. ponder
6. wonder
7. experiment
8. create
9. catch
10. toss
11. dig
12. expand
13. visualize
14. imagine
15. feel
16. care
17. compose
18. type
19. breathe
20. rest
21. refresh
22. return
23. reach
24. question
25. wrestle
26. revise
27. stay
28. nail
29. hope
30. smile
The words are not new--but always pertinent. (Don't you just love word association games?)
Would you add any words, delete any? How is your garden growing? Any tiger lilies talk to you lately?
11. dig
12. expand
13. visualize
14. imagine
15. feel
16. care
17. compose
18. type
19. breathe
20. rest
21. refresh
22. return
23. reach
24. question
25. wrestle
26. revise
27. stay
28. nail
29. hope
30. smile
The words are not new--but always pertinent. (Don't you just love word association games?)
Would you add any words, delete any? How is your garden growing? Any tiger lilies talk to you lately?
"Tiger lilies--the panthers of the meadow." --Titus Munson Coan
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After seeing that photo, I can't get out of tiger-lily mode, so:
ReplyDeleteHow about bloom (equally important for tiger lilies and for ideas)? How about compost (ditto)? And maybe grow (ditto again)?
Yes, tiger lilies have spoken to me - yours! Makes me want to go write something beautiful!
"Compost"--yes! That's the part of writing that's done in the dark, our daydreaming and stirring things up phase, melding and aging until we get the right mix, right? Love it. Along with "grow." That we'll never stop doing as writers, I don't think...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peggy, appreciate your comments. Always enjoy hearing from you :-)
That plant is amazing! The words you posted are all great; I also love the ones Peggy posted. I guess some words that come to my mind frequently is "knit" or "knitting," or "weaving." Seems I'm always weaving this and that into my story.
ReplyDeleteI second your word choices, Cathy--"knit" and "weave" are definitely writer's words. The list keeps growing. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI like "knit" and "weave," too. What about "frame" as another choice?
ReplyDeleteI love your tiger lilies, what a beautiful color. I like the word wrestle--that seems to be what I'm doing with my new WIP :).
ReplyDelete