Proper Words in Proper Places

"The proper words in the proper places are the true definition of style."-- Jonathan Swift  

I've been thinking, as I do, about words.

Writing is such a funny thing. It has so many dimensions; you can write a sentence that no one has ever uttered before, without much of a thought. You can create anything with words -- pictures, melodies, feelings.


But there are so many to choose from, and so many ways to place them; which makes them so fun. If you haven't noticed, I have an addiction to quotes. Jonathan Swift said it well "proper words in the proper places are the true definition of style". We like quotes because of their style, because they've been placed in such an order that we find them intriguing and thought provoking.

All the best quotes are the simplest ones -- small words in the perfect order.

Words are like threads that we pick out and weave until we make something tangible.

I like writing because it takes my thoughts and turns them out into neat, compact little threads that I can see. And once I can see them, I can weave them into a Big Picture that I can look back at and understand. But that's just me writing for me. Of course, this blog is me writing for me, and for you. My short stories and other pieces I've worked on are for other people.

I'm a fairly creative person. I like making art, I like appreciating it, I like knowing other people appreciate my own efforts.

But what I love is knowing that for a few moments, however small, my words are slipping into your mind like little silver ribbons of thought. Honestly, what could be more amazing? The true essence of art is that extra dimension of communication, where you, the reader -- or the listener or observer -- slip out of your own thoughts for a moment and let yourself fall completely into the world of someone else.

How beautiful!

Here's what's been niggling at me lately:

What gives me the right to do that? What is giving me the right to fill your mind up with my own thoughts? What makes me worth your time, what makes me give my own time to try?

I don't quite know. I suppose you do. When I read someone else's work, I like to forget myself for a few moments and be somewhere else. I guess, then, when I'm writing it's my job to create a world for you to get lost in, a world you haven't experienced before.

Either way, I like knowing that all these tiny letters on this page can make a reader feel something, that all these miniscule punctuation marks and spaces mean something; maybe not something important, but something you appreciate.

It's flattering!

I guess though, in the end, even if no one reads this, I'm at least enjoying writing for myself.

I can only hope you enjoy it too.