Writers Love Words. How About You?

I'm a word person. Have you ever heard anyone say that? If you ever spent some time with me, you'd most likely hear those 4 words slip right out of my mouth to whatever ear is nearby. Numbers and anything to do with them bore me. Mathematicians would cringe at hearing me say that, I'm sure. 

You'll never see me doing a sudoko puzzle. Crossword puzzles are a joy for me. There is one in our Kansas City paper every day that is relatively easy and I can complete it in about 10 minutes. I consider it exercising my mind but I also like the puzzles because it allows me to play with words.

Looking at the poster for today and putting it and more in question form, how would you answer the following?

• Do you love the shape of stories? The opening lines, the building blocks that create the story, and a fitting ending--all of these things that shape a story.
• Do you have an appreciation of creating sentences from words?
•  Do you like the way words become phrases?
• Is it a joy for you to create new worlds on each page?
• Is writing satisfying for you?
• Do you like the sounds of certain words?
• Are you an avid reader?

If your answers were mostly positive, then consider yourself a writer. Not a scientific survey but still easy enough to see who is a word lover like me. 

The last question in the list above comes from the final part of the Annie Proulx, author, quote. I am in agreement with her statement that writing comes from reading and that we are students of the craft who can learn a great deal by reading what others have written. No, we don't want to copy other authors. We want our own voice in our writing but, even so, there is much to learn from reading the work of other writers. Be a sponge and soak up the lessons. 

As writers, I think we learn while reading for pleasure, even if it is subconsciously. I mentioned a few days ago that I had pointed out an opening line in the novel my Book Club had read. I was able to initiate a discussion about the importance of a first line or first paragraph in a story. I am the only one in the group who is a writer as well as a reader. One woman said she had never considered how important those opening lines/paragraphs were. She added that she'd be paying attention to them from now on. 

Write but also learn from the writing of others.