The Power of Words by A B Plum

The Power of Words

“Sticks and stones may break my bones,

But words can never harm me.”

Remember this childhood ditty?

Remember how old you were when you knew it was a lie?

Words hurt. They can break the heart and wound the soul. Once said, they can’t be unsaid (though, mercifully, sometimes we can forget them).

The most obvious example of words used as missiles of mass destruction was during the presidential election. Too often, those of us listening to the vitriol spilled across the airwaves couldn’t believe our ears. Parents around the country covered their children’s ears.

For us writers, the bad ‘rap’ words have gotten in the past few months threatens to tarnish our only creative tool. But . . . new words come into the English language every second of the day.

Here are a few I’ve discovered recently. Do you know what they all mean?

Vlog –makes sense blogs and video would collide.

Yogalates – makes more sense than tai’lates, right?

Glamp – for those averse to roughing it outdoors, only seems natural someone would find a way to make sleeping in the wild glamorous.

ROFL – not really a word, IMO, except it is now ubiquitous—maybe even usurping LOL and IMO.

Squee – added this year to the OED, it’s meaning is obvious, IMO, even without an exclamation mark. It’s the new poster child as an example of onomatopoeia.

YODA – whether originally from Sanskrit or Hebrew or from the mind of Steven Spielberg or a screenwriter, this one sounds like Buddha and yoga—both sources of tranquility. Thanks to this link http://www.starwarsselect.com/wordorigins.html for this insight.

Who knows? Maybe next election, Yoda-like words will prevail.

And BTW, words can also soothe, comfort, and heal. Not to mention inspire and entertain—all reasons to read, read, read.

*****

ABOUT AB

Scary comic books, nineteenth century American literature (especially Poe, Hawthorne, and James), plus every genre in-between have influenced AB’s writing. Teaching adolescent boys and working with high-testosterone Silicon Valley tekkies opened up new insights into neuroanatomy and behavioral psychology. She lives in the shadow of Google, writes and walks daily. She participates in a brain-building aerobic dance class three times a week.

Find her blogging every second Tuesday:  http://thestilettogang.blogspot.com/    

Go here to buy The Early Years on Amazon:  amzn.com/B01MPY736B

Look for The Lost Days, Book 2 in The MisFit Series coming mid-December.

ABOUT The Early Years, Book 1 in The MisFit

“No monster comes into the world full grown. Even a monster has a childhood.”

Unlovable from birth? Eerily different? Eleven-year-old Michael Romanov retaliates against the verbal sticks and stones hurled at him by his older brother, guaranteeing his icy mother’s descent into hell.

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