AUTHOR'S CORNER;

LET'S TALK ABOUT WORDS, BABY!

That which has the power to ignite fire within the hearts of men, to fuel their burning desires, to put upon their hearts a weight which is not satisfied nor quenched until the thirst becomes greater than themselves.  That which can entice, engage, enlighten and invigorate the senses to the point that only action can soothe!  That which plays upon the imagination and whispers to the soul and drives the ego into crazed heights.

That which can soften the hardest of men, harden the gentlest of creatures, drive wild the placid amongst us.  That which can turn an ordinary night into a magical place, or a thing of beauty into the ugliest of things.  That which has led men into war, led war into peace.  That which is poison, nectar, medicine, holy water, faith, and despair!

In my country of origin there is a saying that words are like magic woven into the night.  That nothing in this earth can ever be more powerful than words!  And the ancient Egyptians knew what they were talking about, for their words were recorded on their walls and their legacy outlived most! 

In the Middle East where the Bedouin caravans roamed, and the desert was all that could be seen, the Arabs spent their nights around a fire reciting poetry to each other, entertaining themselves with tales of love and magic, these gathering were called 'parties of Samar' which meant sweet conversation. 

Words are the key to the soul, they are felt not seen, they are comprehended through the mind's eye and entrenched into the imagination, awakening the heart and nourishing the soul.  Words are the gifts that differentiate us from the rest of the animal kingdom, and our ability to use them is infinite!

IF YOU ARE A WRITER, YOU HAVE A GIFT

Sure, we can all speak words, we can all think words, but not everyone can make words penetrate and invade the senses of the masses!  Speaking words, knowing words, having words, is not enough; one has to know how to manipulate words.  One has to be able to paint a colourful picture with their words and completely immerse the reader into a world of one's own vision!

It is not enough to have a great storyline if all you are going to do is write it flat.  It is not enough to describe a man as simply a man, because that does nothing for the reader.  Or to describe a kiss as the meeting of two lips, because that is just technical!  

And let's face it, our imaginations are only ignited through our emotions and if we can't feel it, we won't see it!  If we can't feel the rage through what we read, or the fear, or the burning love desire, then there is very little chance of us actually fully immersing into the story!

THE BEST WRITERS ARE THE ONES WHO TAKE YOU ON A JOURNEY!

As a writer, one must never shy away from one's own imagination, remember, you are a writer for a reason.  You are a writer because you see things intensely, because you see many points of views, because you have insight into human behaviour, emotions and egos. You are a writer because you are not one dimensional, but three dimensional!  You see, (yes you see) you feel, you hear emotion.  You see different variants of the colour red, and deeper shades of the colour black!  You are a writer because to you, a sky is never just blue and a smile is never ever straight forward!  You are a writer because somehow, somewhere in your genetic make-up, you have incorporated many, many variants of human traits, many, many ways of seeing one thing, many conflicting opinions and lots and lots of understanding!  You have the tool to connect with, have empathy with and understand many a different person!  

ALL GOOD WRITERS UNDERSTAND THIS, JUST ASK UNCLE SHAKESPEARE!

Words and how they play on words are the only real tool we writer  have! If we only remember that, and not feel inhibited by what people may think!  And as Earnest Hemingway once said:

'There is nothing to writing, all a man has to do is to sit down at a typewriter and bleed!'