Discovering new words

8/15/2024

9:52 pm

I told my family that I would rest my hand after my doctor’s appointment today.

I had a steroid shot in the middle of my palm to help with the recently diagnosed trigger finger. I had to take an ibuprofen for pain, there is still tingling and numbness, and I cannot fully open my fingers.

I do not like to sit still and decided to give this transcribe feature on Microsoft Word a try. It is a hit and miss at the moment with lots of errors but I am slowly getting used to it.

Ironically, this prompt is about what we enjoy most about writing.

My favorite part about writing anything is discovering new words. I enjoy looking them up and finding out what the definition is. It’s that basic research skill that we learned as kids.

Whenever I would write for academic papers looking up your word choices and understanding the definition helped. It aids in getting your message across clearly and provides support to your point of view. 

Most of the time, my classmates in group projects would not put in more effort than bare minimum. I always believed that just making a little more effort was the difference between getting an A on the paper versus getting a B or C. 

It was not so much knowing the word but using it correctly in the writing. 

Then when it came to creative writing, knowing and understanding the words was more about what it made the reader feel, the emotions it elicited, or the memory it brought forward.

I remember once in my public speaking class we had to write a short description of someone that meant a lot to us. I wrote this simple sentence “When he walked into the room it was like a ray of sunshine filling the space with warmth and brightness”. 

It was describing how I felt about my grandpa who I still miss even today. He passed away when I was 15 years old.

I received compliments from my classmates and my professor. The consensus was that it immediately reminded them of someone they knew in their life.

It was at that moment that I realized that I wanted to know more about creative writing.

I was not very proficient at writing creatively. I used to detest writing poetry because I did not understand it. I hated writing short stories because I never knew how to end them. I cringed when writing dialogue because it never seemed genuine or flowed very well. The creative side of writing has always been a mystery to me and I am still learning.

During my college days, I wanted to change majors to English composition, business communication, or journalism, but I was too far into my business degree program to switch. This did not deter me from learning more.

Many years later I started writing on this blog. This is when I started learning more about creative writing. I wanted to know more on how my favorite authors developed their writing skills over time.

I started reading more, researching writing types, finding new websites, seeking out YouTube videos, following more social media accounts related to writing, and participating in writing contests or challenges. This was all in my attempts to understand the creative writing process. This also helped me find better ways to express my thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

As time went on, a natural rhythm to writing came about. There would be mornings when I would wake up and a poem or writing topic was automatically in my thoughts. I would hurriedly write them down on a piece of paper, in my note app, or on my laptop.

The more comfortable I became at letting my voice be heard, the easier the writing became.

Writing is endless, there are so many stories to tell, to share, and knowledge to gain. Discovering new words is like opening a present, always full of surprises.

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a wonderful week!

Peace, love, happiness, and good vibes, always!

Happy writing!

Suzanne