Saturday, December 4, 2010

The Power in a Word

Posted by Jonene Ficklin

Elbow. Windowsill. Pickle relish. Cinderella. (If you're into old Cinderella movies, you may remember that line.) Don't you just love the way those words roll off your tongue?

Words have a lot of power. Not only do they tickle our senses by the way they feel and sound, but they trigger a picture or a memory.

Take pickle relish for instance. The minute I hear it, I'm back by a campfire, toasting a hot dog on a stick, giggling with fellow campers over horrible scary stories. It's a silly word, yes, but most people instantly associate it with something memorable.

And when we write, those are the kind of words we're always searching for. The great thing about living now is we have easy access to master-word-turners, J.K. Rowling and Dr. Seuss for instance. Dumbledore, Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs with Ham, Hermione. (Did you take forever to learn how to pronounce it properly like I did?)

So I'm on the search for more powerful words. What's your secret? Do you have a particular word that tickles your funny bone?

25 comments:

  1. Not sure it tickles me, but I like plethora.

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  2. I adore words! Finding the right one can take me on a quest through my multiple dictionaries, thesauruses, and internet.

    I found my favorite word at age four, and loved to hide in the kitchen cupboard, pop out, and shout it to the world. The word? RIDICULOUS!

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  3. That's a great word - thanks! My daughter's favorite youtube prank caller uses it very well. If you'd like to see it, here's the link:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g0XGKuC-ek

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  4. Rebecca, that's a great story! I could picture it perfectly.

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  5. Fabulous! Stab me in the eye! Oh puppies! Those are just a few of my favorite words or phrases. Why? Who wouldn't want to yell, "Stab me in the eye!" when something goes wrong. Try it. And yes, I can see you all grinning right now. Really I can.

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  6. Yes, but it sounds better when you say it.

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  7. Jonene, lol. Maybe you just need more practice.

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  8. I love discombobulated! :)

    We were just talking about Hermione's name the other day. We first thought it was her-mee-own :)

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  9. Words are funny. They swim in my subconscious until they decide it's time to pop up. Then, if I really NEED one, they are no where to be found.

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  10. Jemi, that's a great one! And I'm embarrassed to say that I called Hermione 'her-moine'. I knew the 'i' came before the 'o', but on first reading it stuck in my brain and wouldn't switch until the official version came out.

    Susan, oh boy, am I on the same wagon with you. When I'm writing, I'll know the perfect word, and it's on the tip of my tongue, but somehow it's stuck in a layer of gray matter and won't come without a fight. Thank heavens for synonyms, thesauruses, dictionaries and the internet, right, Rebecca?

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  11. I'm not really a words person myself, but I love to read the words of others. One of my favorite authors seems to like the word "maladroit."

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  12. Jonene, I pronounced Hermione like that too... :)

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  13. Anonymous, who is the author that uses "maladroit"? Great word!

    Chantele, oh, that's so good to hear! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. Hi, Jonene! Pickle relish? The first thing that comes to me is elementary school and putting a spoonful in my mouth and spitting out the stuff. Too sweet! Lol. I LOVE sour picles. :D

    I make my words powerful by using strong ones, not weak ones. I turn walk into stroll, calm into tranquil, dislike into avarice, warm into sizzling and so forth!

    Great post, love it!!!

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  15. Jonene, it's Brandon Sanderson who uses maladroit. Sometimes twice on the same page.

    I adore being a native English speaker because English words have such subtle shades of meaning. Elizabeth, you mentioned walk, which is kind of a lazy word because it doesn't tell me anything, but as you say we've got stroll, stride, march, stalk, skip, trip, dance, creep, shuffle, lope, limp, hobble, and a host of others I could list if I pulled out my thesaurus. Words from different languages, words from different times, words that trigger different memories in the reader.

    Love it.

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  16. Elizabeth, I'm with you. I love dill pickles, or better yet, hot pickles. By the way, great powerful words there. Each one gave an emotional image, which is the true art of storytelling. Thanks!!

    Rebecca, I have 'Mistborn' almost at the top of my 'to read' pile and now I can't wait to find Brandon's trademark word. My son is a huge fan of his! And I know who to ask next time I need a good word. Thanks!

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  17. I always liked 'amble', but I'm curious as to how you picture it. Do you imagine a slouch/shuffle or a rolling gait with style?

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  18. Rolling gait with style. A gentle jauntiness.

    Amble is an awesome word because it brings to mind ambulatory and perambulator. Maybe also ambulance, but that's not so nice an image.

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  19. I'm smiling right now : ). Oo, I like perambulator. You might have to start a trend. Baby stroller and wheel chair are common words that really need a makeover.

    Another word I love is intrinsic (and yes, Leisha, Trin is in there!) It gives your whole mouth a workout. Now say it as you sigh and waggle your head - and you have the cool, tired intelligence thing going. (I couldn't get away with this personally, but a character could.)

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  20. Yes! I love intrinsic. Dry and snappy, but with a resonant buzz in the middle. Delicious word.

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  21. Lol, Jonene, Rebecca--you guys are so cute! If only Blogger could provide a chatroom. *sigh*

    Le hug!

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  22. The Real Group from Sweeden sings a song called "Words". Recently, Vocal Point sang the song at their concert. See it here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aYYcJrhEXY

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  23. Rebecca, you would make a wonderful ad executive!

    Elizabeth, ha ha, thanks! It's been fun and yes, I wish they had a chatroom.

    Anonymous, thanks, that was great! I love acapella, but I really enjoyed it with 'Words'.

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