It’s not often I read an article/essay and get excited by the pure pleasure of the way the words are put together.
That was my happy experience this morning in reading Shawn MacKenzie’s amazing contribution entitled “You Are Your Words” to Karen R. Sanderson’s “Words, Words, Words Week” on her Word Shark blog. Every paragraph, it seemed, had a memorable phrase or line, and I just had to share it with all my Heartspoken readers who love the connection power of words and their ability to comfort, encourage, inspire, and thrill. Here are just a few excerpts from Shawn’s reflections on writing and writers, but please treat yourself to the few moments it will take to read the entire piece.
Out of the chaos of random thought, the void of the blank page, we create whole worlds and the beings who live in them.
And so we string one word after another, counting our hours from phrase to sentence to paragraph to tome. We weave tales of myth and wonder and supernal genesis. For words are creative. With them we name things and by naming them bring them into being. They are active, breathing life into those named things, making them romp and fly and do handsprings through the treetops.
I am defined by the words in my life. They are my tools, my paint and canvas, soil and seeds. I shape them, play with them, with luck make them croon like armadillos and pirouette on the wings of a damselfly.
Doesn’t it just make you happy to know there are writers like Shawn MacKenzie who can stir your imagination and your soul with their unique combination of words formed from only 26 simple letters of the alphabet?
How does it make you think differently about the way you’ll use your own words?
Since I first met Shawn, and read her “The Dragon Keeper’s Handbook” and recently her “Dragons for Beginners,” I have been amazed at her grasp of the language, the way she uses it to paint images in my mind, her enthusiasm for all things “wild and wondrous.” I am grateful to have her as a friend, a mentor (though she probably would scoff), and also as my editor. She is a literary treasure. Thank you for sharing this wonderful blog with your readers, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth, thank you for sharing and for you oh-so-kind words.
Shawn, it is my pleasure and privilege to shine a spotlight on your wonderful piece. Thanks for stopping by and commenting here!