Tag: Word

What’s your Word?

Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse
Eat, Pray, Love
Image via Wikipedia

I have three books that have inspired me and that I keep coming back to for rejuvenation. My favourite of these is the one that resonates with me and with who I am: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Elizabeth shares a myriad of ideas, epiphanies and inspirations that she stumbles across in a year-long journey of self-discovery and healing. 

Yesterday I revisited one of these ideas/epiphanies:

Elizabeth is living her lifelong dream –adventuring in Italy, India and Bali.  As the scene opens, she is engaged in a conversation with her Italian friend, Giulio:  “Giulio asked me what I thought of Rome.  I told him I really loved the place, of course, but somehow knew it was not my city, not where I’d end up living for the rest of my life.  There was something about Rome that didn’t belong to me, and I couldn’t quite figure out what it was…”  “Giulio said, ‘Maybe you and Rome just have different words.’  “What do you mean?”  Then he went on to explain, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there…”  “Giulio asked, ‘What’s the word in New York City?’  I thought about this for a moment, then decided.  “It’s a verb, of course.  I think it’s ACHIEVE.  (Which is subtly but significantly different from the word in LA which is also a verb:  SUCCEED.  ….”  Giulio asked, ‘What’s your word?’ ” 

This may sound simple to define but it can be a revealing eye-opener and what you may answer with may just take you by surprise. So how do you find “Your One Word”? How do you sum up yourself in just one word? Does that word change?

Sometimes the answer may come to you immediately. But sometimes you have to let the idea germinate and grow in your heart before you can see the Word. 

I think that Giulio, Elizabeth’s friend, is right. I think everyone does have one word that defines who they are. I also think that you can have growing words as you change and grow in life: these changing words are defined by your experiences and your emotions. 

In the movie version of this book, Elizabeth’s initial answer is: Daughter, Wife, Mother and finally Writer. However her friend argues that this is not “her”, this is who she is to others and it is what she does. 

When I first read this book, I could not find my Word. But this weekend has been a weekend of epiphanies. Now, I have finally found my word.

My word is: Seek.

Your Word may be a noun or a verb. It is not an adjective because that describes you not defines you. But when you find Your Word it can open up a doorway of possibility. So often in life, we want to find out all the answers and understand all the questions but do we pay as much attention to ourselves as we do to the external and the material. Do you really know yourself?

Another way you could view this idea is to ask the people closest to you what one word they would use to define you: not an adjective to describe you but a noun or verb to define you. I can guarantee that the word that they will come up with will differ from Your Own Word. Why? We all wear different faces in our lives and two different people in our lives will have two different versions of ourselves that we allow them to see.

So….What’s Your Word? 

Sit with this idea for a while and see what you come up with. It may come to you immediately or it may take time but eventually you will find Your Word. If you know your word, write it down. So, tell me what’s Your Word? 

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Writing without words…

Ink Slaying, Inspiration, Kim Koning, Notes on Wrestling The Muse, Postaday / Postaweek 2011
LesCorsetsLeFuretParis18cutA
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…I know you just saw the title of this post and ???????  filled your mind…

Of course you and I both know that writing defines words. Or does it? Is it words that fill your mind before you start writing? Or is your mind assailed by images, emotions,instincts, sensory stimulation?

I believe that text-book writing is filled with words both in the conception and the birth of the product. But is poetry / prose / fiction filled with words? How do you picture your imagination – in essence, how do you imagine your imagination? Is it words you see?

Maybe it is. But for me writing inspiration is not made up of words. Indeed sometimes I battle to find the words to convey what I see, hear and feel in my imagination. For me, my poetry in particular is not formed of words. Although words in a poetic form are the final birth product of my conception, words are not how those poems begin. For me poetry is music, emotion, passion, heart, sound, sight, taste, feel and instinct. Words don’t come into it. But to convey what I feel, I must use words. Because we are verbal creatures. We speak with words. Words give my poems a voice. But my poems could easily be a music composition, a sculpture, a painting or a photograph. All of these would convey the feelings and emotions that are in my poetry.

What about fiction and prose? Surely those come under “writing with words”? Do they? For myself my stories come through sensory and emotional stimulation. I write best with music. This is common to a lot of writers. But for me the music I am listening to leaks out and inspires my writing. If I put a name to it, I could call it The Fountain head of Music and the water that flows from here is the inspiration behind my stories.

Which part of the human brain is the home of creativity? The right side of the brain or the Right Brain is. The left side of your brain dictates logic, thought and speech. The right side dictates emotion, fantasy and creativity. Aha!

So why do we end up writing with words? We choose to write with words so that our right side of our brain can communicate with our left side of the brain. We choose to write because society finds words easier to interpret and understand than a painting, a sculpture or a music composition.

The talent of a writer is to interpret those feelings, emotions and senses into words and sentences that the average Joe can understand and appreciate. It is a worthy gift that holds a weight on the shoulders of a writer. As writers we are the bridge between logic and emotion, we are the bridge between fantasy and understanding.

So when we feel blocked or battle to get past a point in a story is it because we have dead-ended inspiration? Have we lost inspiration? No, I don’t believe we have. Speaking for myself, I get blocked when I use too much of my left brain and over-think a story / character / scene. I use that time to peel back the layers of my story and try to refocus on what the original conception was. It might have been a dream I had. (I often get my story ideas from dreams – a visual smorgasbord of random sights and sounds.) It might have been from a piece of classical music I  hear. It might have been inspired by something I saw. I start refocusing with my right side of my brain and that’s what unlocks me. I don’t like the term “blocked”. I prefer the term “locked”. All you have to do sometimes is retrace your imagination’s steps and find where you misplaced the key so that you can unlock the story again.

The epiphany of the day is that the key to interpreting your imagination and your inspiration through words is to refocus the right side of your brain. You need to write without words….

© All Rights Reserved Kim Koning

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NaNoWriMo Warriors ~ The Pen is mightier than The Sword

Inspiration, Kim Koning, NaNoWriMo 2010, Notes on Wrestling The Muse
the pen is mightier than the sword
Image by Gabi Agu via Flickr

Attention: All Warriors

Yes that means you. The traditional definition for a Warrior is ~ BRAVE FIGHTER & SOLDIER. So why would that make you a Warrior? Let me tell you why. Each of us has our own daily battles to fight. It starts when we get up in the morning and does not let off until we go to bed at night. The battle may have different fields for each of us. But they are all battles. Do these terms sound familiar?

STRESS

RESPONSIBILITY

SELF DOUBT

DENIAL

RESERVE

EMOTIONAL CONFLICT

The CHAOS that is LIFE

UNPREDICTABILITY

TIME

MONEY

EGO / ID

Did any of these fields of battle seem familiar to you? If you answered yes to only one of these terms than you are doing better than most of humanity. No matter what culture you are part of, what time-zone you fall in on the globe, what job you do, single or in a relationship – you will encounter at least most of these battles in your daily lives. The only thing that separates you and I from soldiers is that we don’t wear a uniform that describes us and sets us apart. There are also very seldom any awards for battles well fought given out to us.

There are also another group of Warriors this month. They are part of a 172,000 strong army and their weapons are currently almost 200 000 000 words. These brave troops are boosted by infantry troops of 27,000 junior warriors with fighting power of 10 000 000 words.

This  month I am proud to say that I am one of the 172,000 warriors for NaNoWriMo 2010 and my individual fighting power currently stands at 16547 words. I am very proud of those statistics and this battalion of True Warriors.

These NaNoWriMo Warriors are truly warriors for three reasons.

  1. These Word Warriors fight all the above battles that I listed to chase after a dream. This dream may seem impossible but yet this does not stop them from signing up and volunteering for battle. They also do this along a normal life as well. They do not go and become a hermit in a tucked away cabin, eschewing all human company for 30 days. No they do this Great Battle of the Novel parallel to and oftentimes intersecting life. They do this, not for a monetary prize or even a gold medal, they do this to say proudly that they have taken 30 days to write 50 000 words or more.
  2. The second reason they are called NaNoWriMo Warriors is that by the end of the month they are not just individuals anymore. They have forged bonds and made connections that may last a life time. When you enlist for this Battalion, like any army you become a unit with other individuals all with the same goal even though they may have different motivations. As a Battalion they are supportive and encouraging of each other. They back one another up when they are flailing for air. They cover one another with firepower of WORDS when they go into battle. They respect one another and they all respect the Chase after the Dream.
  3. The third reason why they are called NaNoWriMo Warriors is to my mind the most important and worthy reason of all. It is a simple fact but one that begs to be repeated in this modern age especially. It is as simple and as complex to say: THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD. For this reason, each and every one of the 172,000 Warriors and each and every one of the 27,000 junior infantry are True Warriors of the Highest order. In this day and age that people seem to look to television or gaming devices for information and entertainment it makes my heart swell with pride to see the sheer numbers of the Warriors that have enlisted for NaNoWriMo with only a pen in your hand. Be not dismayed by thinking that a pen could not possibly hold up to a sword let alone be mightier. I mean aren’t writers nerdy? Can you name me one great army soldier from any country in the 16th century? You have 3 minutes, without googling….Did you come up with a name? Me neither. Now name me a great Wordsmith Warrior of the 16th century  in the same amount of time? The answer is William Shakespeare. Now how powerful is the Word I ask you?  I could give thousands, hundreds of thousands of other great word warriors but I think you get the point with just this one.

So today if you are facing a particularly tough battle, remember that you are a Warrior Chasing a Worthy Dream with powerful fighting power: Your Words.

I leave you with words from the Mighty Bard himself:

that many wearing rapiers are afraid of goose-quills and dare scarce come thither. – Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2 – William Shakespeare

Now go:

Fight the Good Fight with your Mighty Words!

 

© All rights reserved Kim Koning.

 

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