A DRAGON ON WRITING

I do not lightly take pen in claw...I speak literally; I've not found a pen yet that's big enough to be held without great concentration. Now, a mail-hawk quill--a sizable bird, those hawks--and their quills are equally sizable, with just enough dimension, mass, bulk to allow a good pinch between the tips of my most flexible fore-claws. Still, it is an effort/undertaking/endeavor for which I must have a sound and motivating purpose to pursue. A good tale, a rousing song, a splendid sonnet, a rib-tickling verse, an ode, couplet, limerick, swelling prose--grrrrrr--oops, my enthusiasm renders me speechless! Just joking. A jest, tease, quip...I've not been speechless since the shell of my egg cracked open and spilled me out on a dark cave floor! My dam--rest her bones--once said I was hatched with words pouring from my gullet like spoiled food.

Well, this is all to bring me to this point of fact: I have a penchant/fondness/proclivity/ inclination for words. I feel it incumbent on me to share, in all humility, my acuity for the written word. I am scribe, writer, author, novelist, essayist--oh, and when I place a brush to paper, not a mean artist, but that is another discussion. This moment is about 'words'--the written statement, etched expression, visual remark. It is, I believe, nigh on impossible for the less verbally keen to select the 'appropriate' word from the plethora of verbiage available. I, myself, have overcome this difficulty of choice by utilizing all available meanings of a given word within its given context. Is this not clever? Bright? Witty? Quick? Ah--you grasp the point with ease I see! Fling forth, I say, every possible, potential, prospective, probable interpretation, meaning, sense, connotation, import for which a particular arrangement of letters is intended. Oh--the blessed lexicon. Thesaurus. Word list. Growl. The mere thought brings a fiery flame of excitement to my gullet!

Advice, you ask? But, indeed, have I not just shared the most advisable advice, useful counsel, gleaning guidance, officious opinion...officious? Is that the right word? Ah, well, one cannot worry over every little slip of the tongue, forked though it be. Make use, my aspiring fellow authors, whether Dragon, human, or otherwise, of dictionary and thesaurus, of tomes and books and scrolls and volumes that dissect, describe, explain, illustrate the meaning and usage of letters, words, vocabulary, language in its fullest, brightest, most animated form. Savor the richness of ye olde written word as you would the cream at the top of the jug, the foam on the wave, the gleam on the edge of a star. Nothing, I believe, is lessened by opulence.

Of course, if you're writing other than fantasy or historical fiction, the sumptuous might not suit. Audience, my friends, must be considered. Contemplated. Given due deliberation.

There you have it for this evening. Time for rest, revitilization, revival, renewal, recovery. Pick up your pen or quill again tomorrow. If you've time, share with an old Dragon how you claw up your words.

In the story, Princess Shaila says to me: “Your tongue is stalled. For a creature who belches words like cheap confetti, that’s astounding.”
To which I reply: “My vocabulary is never inexpensive!”

A Dragon does not lie.