I
do not need to go back in my mind to the Record-Searchlight newsroom, silent witness to my days as a cub reporter. The rooms of the newsroom, the two of them, often are with me without bidding when I sit down and set out to write.
The mind, it seems, anchors memories with images. I learned in seminary that the discipline called Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) speaks of this phenomenon in terms of its therapeutic applications. If you do not like the feel of a memory anchor, you can swap anchors in a simple mind process.
Basically, you close your eyes and pick a new anchor image.
And it works.
Without persons who speak and write, and observe, words — our words — would be dead and gone. I care more about self and other persons, but I also prize words in themselves, like I love my three cats — less than my wife, certainly, but more than many other persons, or things.
Without words, how could I say, I love you?
I’ve been reading a young adult book, Wildwood, by Colin Meloy with fine illustrations by his spouse, Carson Ellis. Meloy is the lead performer of the Portland, Oregon, band called The Decemberists and Wildwood, his first novel, published in 2011, is Book 1 of the Wildwood Chronicles. The publisher is Balzer + Bray, an imprint of big-house publisher HarperCollins.
I almost quit this book.
Read all about it at HouseofVerbs.com
My first five Tweets of the day –
@baldyblogger Jon Rieley-Goddard re: within and without … *without* is the culprit w/its two meanings of *outside* and *lack*. As idiom, OK to use. I don’t.
2 hours ago
@baldyblogger Jon Rieley-Goddard re: inside and out. Works w/o the ambiguity of idioms (qv) such as *within and without* cf *inside-out* (takes hyphen in all uses) #usage
2 hours ago
@baldyblogger Jon Rieley-Goddard re: idiom. A phrase that skates on the usual rules by common assent. For example *common assent* tho redundant enjoys wide use. #usage
1 hour ago
@baldyblogger Jon Rieley-Goddard re: q.v. … q.v. stands for two Latin words meaning *which see*. cf *v.* which is handy and short for *see*. For other abbrev. e.g. *cf* …
1 hour ago
@baldyblogger Jon Rieley-Goddard re: cf … which means *compare to*. For all other abbreviations and shortcuts handy for TwitterTalk? v. Google. JFGI (q.v.)
1 hour ago
A web site for writers would look like this, I suppose.
Or maybe a web site for writers would resemble a book for readers who have written and who will write again.
Repeat offenders.
Read all about it at HouseofVerbs.com
