Don't be a HATER ...

So, it took me a while to decide what to write about today. "H" is such an interesting letter. Lot's of beautiful words like Hunger, Haunt, Holy, Humane.

And then there's HATE.

One of the ugliest words I know of. Short. Harsh. Mean in every way. It's not just the sound of the word, it's everything it stands for. It's the degree to which it is employed and misused. The very ease with which it trips from our tongues, without regard to it's real agenda.

Too hate any person, place, thing or action is to loathe it's very existence. To abominate it's reality. To despair of it's presence or influence. We use the word itself too freely, to gratuitously. We say we hate something when what we really mean is we dislike it, feel uncomfortable with it or find it painful. We rarely feel such overwhelming revulsion as to really "hate" anyone or thing.

To HATE is to feel a tendency towards deepseated prejudice and resentment, to be willing to do ANYTHING to ensure it's removal.

Elie Wiesel once said "“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference."

Anais Nin said "Everything with me is either worship and passion or pity and understanding. I hate rarely, though when I hate, I hate murderously."

And Orson Scott Card said it best, without ever using the dreaded "H" word: “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.”

D is for Dictionary...

This one is too easy, but it's so important I had to post it:

1. If you don't have a dictionary, buy one.
2. If you don't use a dictionary, start.
3. If you haven't explored your dictionary, do so.

Part and parcel of the same topic:
A. Read your own work. How many times do you use the same verb, adverb, modifier to describe and detail something in your story? Learn what your "catch" words are and find alternatives. Yes, this is more in line with Thesaurus use, but learning NEW words and how to use them will make you a better writer.

B. What are your "problem" words? I know that when the story hits me strong and I'm moved by the muse, the words fly from my fingers too quickly to catch the correct use. My problem words are "there/they're/their;" "to/too," "staid/stayed." I have others, but this is the short list. I keep them posted above my desk, adding to the list as I discover additional words I frequently misuse or misspell. Awareness of those words helps me make fewer errors when I am writing and makes me a better editor as well.

Our language is so complex, dynamic and beautiful in it's variety, it's a shame to limit ourselves to the same stale expressions over and over. Try something new. You just might like it!