Writers put a lot of stock in finding the right word. Justifiably so; the right word is the right word. No other word but that one will do. Sometimes, though, the right word simply doesn’t exist.
The statement isn’t an indictment of writers. It’s an acceptance that writing, for all its strengths, has weaknesses. It has limitations. Sometimes, it simply can’t do the work required of it. It can’t impress the magnitude of a situation. It can’t show the immensity of a scene. It might give an indication of those things, but the story is crippled if left to the the medium of writing alone.
Fortunately, words don’t exist in a vacuum. The writer who acknowledges writing’s limitations isn’t imprisoned by them; she’s freed to explore other options. Once she gets past the spluttering and fustiness of not being able to express an event or emotion with words, she examines the other tools at her disposal.
Perhaps what she needs is not words but audio. Maybe her readers need to hear the emotions in a person’s voice to understand that this situation, no matter how large or small, has a very real impact on the people involved in it. Maybe she needs to silence her voice and let an image speak. What more is there to say when an image of a war camp appears on the screen? At such times, the writer needs to quiet herself. She needs to give her readers a little space, a little room to breathe, so that when she does speak, she speaks with the right, most powerful words.
Sometimes, though, sometimes no words are needed at all. There simply isn’t a right one, but there may be a right image or audio file. When the writer lets go of her words, she finds herself free to pursue not the right word but the right medium.
Image: Rob (Creative Commons)
[…] Geoff Livingston (my boss!) and I have been working on a top-secret project that we’re happy to announce: an e-book that examines the shift from primarily text-driven communication to visuals. Our work in marketing, PR, social, and mobile has given us a birds-eye view of the situation, and it isn’t one that can be addressed by creating “snackable content.” We believe the shift is much deeper and larger than that. While we don’t believe words are going to disappear altogether, we do think a change in how we approach, create, and publish content is needed. […]