In Sustenance of Profligate Confabulation
I have seen many writers of late, (who struggle
To be taken seriously), interject "big" or unusual
Or fancy words into their prose in an effort to be
"Profound", or seem like they have a grand knowledge
Of just what it takes to be a wonderful writer, and
Here's the thing: To ME, (and to me ONLY), great,
Creative, wonderful, and profound poetry, does NOT
Need the use of big words to be meaningful, it takes
Much less AND much more than that, in the way of
The fluid, creative, integral, substantive, emotional,
And meaningful ways that you weave your words
Together, relate them to each other, support the
Idea and purpose of the thoughts, AND present them
And your ideas to the reader. I am not impressed by
Fancy words used in ways that are transparently
Overblown, or not needed to the thrust of the story
Being told, or extravagant words thrown into places
They're not needed, simply for the sake of impressing
Others with vocabulary knowledge. People who
DO have an extensive knowledge of words, use
Unusual words in an effort to create fluidity, flow,
Rhythm, interest, and even musicality, and do so
With originality and an effort to not repeat words
In ways that can be redundant or overly-repetitive.
People who know good writing, know when
Others use complicated words in ways that don't
Really make sense, or in ways that are clearly
Meant to impress the reader, and not add anything
Good or worthwhile to the piece being written.
I have even seen "featured" works on different
Sites of late that are clearly stuffed full of every
Big, fancy word possible, to the point where the
Meaning of the poem is completely obscured,
And the interaction of the phrases has become
Silly and pointless. And again, I'm not impressed
By complex words, I'm impressed by complex
IDEAS, even when those ideas may be presented
With the simplest of words. Use complex words
To SUPPORT ideas that maybe can't be brought
Forth in a simple way ONLY, or use complex
Words in an effort to paint a unique picture in the
Mind of the reader, or use complex words to add
To an unusual rhythm or metre or literary device,
Or use complex words to better clarify something
That NEEDS further clarification, but DON'T use
Big, fancy, complex words for the sake of themselves,
For people with limited vocabulary will not understand
Them, and will lose the flow and import of your piece,
And people with extensive vocabulary will know
That you're not using them correctly ... either way,
You've lost your reader, and only your best of
Friends will pat you on the back and say "My, what
Wonderful work you have here!", and those kinds
Of folks are NOT the ones you're trying to win
Over - they're already on your side, and will read
Your work no matter what - you need to win over
NEW readers, and you'll only do so with new,
Creative, complex, wonderful ideas, NOT new
Creative, complex, wonderful WORDS ... they are
Only as good as the ideas that they're supporting ...
In my very humble and and uniquely odd opinion. ;-)
Copyright ©
Gregory Richard Barden
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