Behind the (Writing) Scenes with…
Bette J. Lafferty, Tampa Branch
Words
From The Pen Woman, Summer 2021
So, you want to become a writer. Are you an avid reader? Do you love words? Do you have a first-rate dictionary? I never learned to appreciate this book until I graduated from high school and hired on at the Toledo Public Library. I ended up in the technology department, of all places. It took me months to master the word technology. Spelling is a skill I never mastered. I blame it on my dyslexia.
Do you realize we actually have a day that honors words? National Dictionary Day is on October 16, just a few days after Columbus Day. And like Columbus, we, too, are on a search, but ours is for the right words. They can carry us to lands we never dreamed of, and their meanings are critical if we are going to master our trade.
So, do your words excite your soul, make you leap for joy, put electricity in your steps? Does your brain do cartwheels when an idea explodes in your head? Are your sentences stimulating, thought-provoking? Do they accelerate your reader’s desire to continue devouring each page?
Invest in an excellent thesaurus. Their pages are filled with a cornucopia of options. You can discover a storehouse of words with the tap of a key on your computer, but I prefer an old-fashioned book. Some writers see them as antiquated, but I love the feel, the smell of a real book.
If you are a poet of verse, a rhyming dictionary is an indispensable tool. The pages are filled with possibilities: boy-joy, run-fun, dove-love — you get the idea. A paperback will do nicely. The book will save you from pulling your hair out scrambling for the right word.
This story wouldn’t be complete without my confession that at the beginning of my writing career, I was a lazy wordsmith. That’s right, I used words I didn’t even comprehend the meaning thereof. Spelling was left to my software, and punctuation to my editor.
Don’t be like me. Do your homework, don’t be lazy; then, enjoy the chase of finding the “write words,” and the joy of discovery will be your reward.
Bette J. Lafferty is an award-winning poet and a published author of life stories, Christian devotions, Bible Studies, and skits.