WORD.

"I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word.

Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine."

Emily Dickinson

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Words. They have authority and influence. 


To motivate and encourage, devastate or heal.


And in books they leave me breathless---a sheer force of beauty. 


They possess the strength to transport me to another world or time or place.

I think of the best sentences I've read and cannot imagine them any other way. They would merely lose their impact.

TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, a simple sentence from the book, THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE.


Jandy Nelson could have written it this way: My heart beats wildly again, ready to burst through my chest.


Instead, she wrote it this way: The flower is blooming again in my chest, this time three seconds from bud to showstopper.


Or a sentence from THE NEAR WITCH.


Victoria Schwab could have said it this way: The wind gusts in the dark night, the windows shuddering and squeaking. 


Instead, she wrote: Outside, the night is still and streaked with silver threads of light, and the wind is breathing against the glass, a wobbling hum that causes the old wooden frame to groan.


See what I mean? MAGIC!


YOUR words--the way you write them--are unlike any others. So choose them carefully. Make them yours. Make them SHINE.


(image, image)