Words With Impact: Deepen Vocabulary

Workshop: Discover Words That Sing

“We store in memory only images of value.” Patricia Hampl

Tying the echoes of emotional resonance into our stories adds texture and depth that helps support a story’s truth. It deepens our vocabulary both literally and figuratively. We can take the codes we discover and deepen our word threads to connect personally—even in situations we have never personally experienced.

There was a poster once on facebook that basically said, “If you are depressed—you’re living in the past; if you are anxious—you’re living in the future; if you are at peace, you’re living in the present.” It’s interesting that all three are tied to memories and how we may process them.

For example, in the historically era movie Hugo, the father lives in his present. Life is not easy or simple. He is raising his son alone, working two demanding jobs, has virtually no extra time to spare and yet every moment is filled with quality. He is dedicated to his son and his craft and his pleasure in both exude love and peace.

His brother also dedicates himself to the quality of his craft, showing considerable diligence, while at the same time drowning his life in alcohol. There is a clue that at one point these two brothers worked together, but no explanation is given of the separation. All we see are two, almost opposite, approaches to life after a season of grief.

Hugo’s new acquaintance George Melie’s has buried his dreams and spent over a decade trying not to remember. Yet when the past begins to crack open into the present, he reacts with anxiety, fear and anger. He fights the possibility of a future that might flood him with despair again.

Hugo teeters between all three as he processes his own loss. He clings to hope by spending each day faithful to the legacy of craft given by his father, and uncle. He dreams of a future to push back the emotional pain, but hovers on anxiety as every step closer also brings the threat of more loss. Every day he must make the choice to follow peace in the present.

Memory holds our emotional reservoir, both personal and public. Some memories are buried so deep that we don’t recognize them when they echo in the present. We have a fleeting pang or touch of comfort, and wonder why. We need these echoes to help us bridge understanding and communication with others. Regardless of language or status we immediately connect, or recognize, the joy of a newborn child or the grief of a death.

Digging deeper into memories for ourselves, and our characters, enable us to deepen vocabulary regardless of genre. And connect with our readers in their settings, their vocations, their character traits, and their traumas.

Action Steps:

1. What past grief or potential future grief is your character facing?

2. Write out a sketch of his personality change for each version: anxious, depressed or at peace.

3. What circumstances could fuel that outcome?

Share: Did any reaction surprise you? Why or why not?

Read deep, marcy