Falling Back In Love With Writing - Emily Dickinson
| Author of over 1800 poems, Dickinson was a prolific writer whose works were not discovered until after her death. Sadly she was unrecognized as the iconic poet we know her as today, however going through her sea of poems, it is hard not to be inspired to fall in love with writing when she so clearly held a powerful reverence for her world which she expressed through her poems. |
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The importance of word choice.
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It’s quite easy to fall into only using common words. Too often we say things like “amazing” or “awesome” -words that can hold powerful meaning if we would let them but when overused they very quickly lose their potency. Rather, use unlikely or even eye opening. That way when something truly is worthy of awe, you can safely use ‘awesome’ and truly mean it. Start by looking into synonyms for words you currently overuse, and you’ll find yourself naturally expanding your vocabulary in a far less daunting way than memorizing a list of words that hold little use to you.
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Dickinson famously wrote “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches on the soul”. Although obvious hope isn’t a physical thing for you to hold, let alone to possess feathers or perch on a soul it gives a powerful imagery to how hope feels. That it is light or that it flutters about inside you, almost like a bird. Of course there’s nothing wrong with realistic writing, but never be afraid to delve into the philosophical while writing for emotional impact.
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Write what you’re passionate about.
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This seems so obvious and over said that it almost hurts but that makes it no less true. Even if you find it hard to write about things you once could discuss endlessly, find new passions to write about. The world is full of so many things to learn about and be inspired by- far too many to allow yourself to be stuck on one that no longer brings you the joy it once did. Even if your joy is making breakfast for your family or the quiet drives after work, fill your writing with the moments in your life that make you happiest and that joy will translate into your writing.
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Write a journal entry about something you are newly passionate about- then go through and see if there are synonyms you could learn to diversify your writing.
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Authors: Colin Murdy & Anna Ratzburg
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