A reader asked on “Write Right: Complement versus Compliment” that I talk about pique, peek, and peak. I’m happy to comply. I’ve added “pick” both because of its similarity in sound to the other three words and because I need the word to make this post work. Thus is the life at Write Right. Words are added or subtracted because of need or creative direction.
words
Write Right: Couple, Few, Some, Several, Many
A couple, few, some, several, and many walk into a bar…Oh, wait, that isn’t right. Let’s restart.
I confess I thought actual rules existed in regard to “couple,” “few,” “some,” “several,” and “many.” I was mistaken. There are no firm rules, only guidelines, and those are based on what sound and feel right.
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Write Right: Further and Farther
“Further” and “farther” often are mistaken for each other in much the same way that “comprise” and “compose” are. It’s understandable; “further” and “farther” are separated only by a single vowel. Despite that small separation, the two words are intended for different uses.
Write Right: Comprise or Compose
“Compose” and “comprise” are tricky words. They’re so similar in sound and somewhat in definition that they cause most wordsmiths to pause and pull out the dictionary. One word is designed to relate the details to the whole, and the other is designed to relate the whole to the details.
When the Words Don’t Come Easily
When the words don’t come easily, when I have to fight for every one of them, I take solace in Richard Hugo’s thoughts. He says the hard work put into one piece of writing makes for the sudden ease of a future – not subsequent but future – piece of writing. I keep writing in hopes of finding that “sudden ease,” however brief it may be. A brief moment of ease is like the first drink of water after running a race. Nothing tastes quite as good as that water. Nothing is quite as refreshing.
When the Words Come Easily
The days when the words come easily are gifts. They are the moments when the writer is free from whatever distracts her. They are the times when the words pour forth – not necessarily good or perfect words but words that can be shaped and turned into something worthwhile. They are words with potential. Such days are rare. They are to be received with gratitude and purpose. If such days are rare, the writer should take advantage of them. She shouldn’t rest in the feeling of clarity; she should act upon it. She should write and write and write until her hands can do no more.