Today was a day of fighting with words. And believe me, it was a struggle. A battle. Words--those just-right ones, ones best for the thought, those that would convey on paper what I pictured in my head--proved elusive. In scene, emotion, dialogue. They just wouldn't come. Maybe I need a few days reprieve. Oh, yes--it's the weekend. I'll take the break!
But I'll also take comfort in knowing that most writers have such days.
Yet, along with the problems, the fits and starts, I was reminded of just how important it is to find that right word. How important it is to not settle for a close-second. Maybe I should just put things aside for a few days. The reminder came in this little ditty that I ran across. It comes from David Carroll's A Manual of Writer's Tricks:
Call a woman a kitten, but never a cat;
You can call her a mouse, cannot call her a rat;
Call a woman a chick, but never a hen;
Or you surely will not be her caller again.
You can call her a duck, cannot call her a goose;
You can call her a deer, but never a moose;
You can call her a lamb, but never a sheep;
Economic she likes, but you can't call her cheap.
Ha! There we go. It's that important. What do you think? Been struggling with just the right word, too?
