Tuesday's Inspiration - A Story Is... #MFRWauthor

"A story is words strung onto paper." Dwight V. Swain   Or in this cast, the computer. Being a writer means loving words and the way they fit together to form a picture. Sometimes when searching for words a writer hast to look them up. Some writers turn to Roget's wonderful listings and others turn to etymology to find the just right word to make the story come alive.

There's a problem with loving words and looking up new ones and that's when a writer choose a new and strange word that puzzles a reader. If the meaning of the word can't be shown by the content around this word, the reader will be pulled from the story to a dictionary to find the meaning. They may never return to the story.

Another problem when finding the right word is finding a lot of words to create the picture one is striving for. Words, especially adjectives can run in strings that so overwhelm the reader in pictures the reader feels lost in a sea of words. Finding the just right word that cascades the reader to think I recognize that place, person or thing.

So choosing the right words to string onto the paper can be great fun. Making sure those words create the picture the reader will understand can be hard work. But writers love words and fitting them together.