#wordoftheday Archives -

December 5, 2018 By Marisa Moks-Unger

Angels Engage Winter Holidays and Wordsmiths

Angels help writers take flight. — Angels are found in both sacred and secular places and can also inspire writers to grow their flow.

Angels Move Feast Days and Writers

Today’s word-of-the-day selection is angels: (noun) – From the Old French, angele. Furthermore, borrowed from the Latin, angelus. The Latin term is from the Greek, angelos, meaning messenger. (The Dictionary of Word Origins, by John Ayto).

Angel examples? They’re everywhere! For instance, many churches feature angels in stained glass windows or statues. In addition, infants and children’s graves often illustrate angels. Certainly, they are printed on everything from greeting cards to wrapping paper. Above all, angel-themed entertainment hovers over this season.

And, a touching example is Richard Paul Evans tale, The Christmas Box. The book became a movie by the same name. In turn, Evans’ tender story inspired an event. Grieving parents each year can remember their children. It is celebrated tomorrow, December 6. See more here: https://www.eastidahonews.com/2018/12/christmas-box-angel-vigil-to-be-held-thursday-for-parents-who-have-lost-a-child/

The Connotation of This Heavenly Term

Looking for a miracle? Break this word down to the words an and gel. So, can you hear the words at work? Here is hope for any creative. Indeed, the word sounds like a cooking term for thickening. Why? Because, writers find relief when a project takes form. (And, this particular blog post is coming together after fits and starts with my site’s account. Finally, it is coming together!)

The Message of the Term Angels

Most importantly, this ethereal word’s message floats lightly from my fingertips to the screen: When you are most frustrated with the work, then that is when we are most at your side to assist you. Keep writing. Get it down. We are here to help you!

Your Turn

Light a candle. (If you missed yesterday’s post on the importance of candlelight for inspiration, see here: https://wewriteitright.com/candle-illuminates-holidays-and-writing-practice/ Next, open your journal. Quickly, free-write about a problem you are having with your writing for 10 minutes. Now, reread what you have written. Often, the answer is found in these speedy writing sessions begin to form – with angles.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

November 15, 2018 By Marisa Moks-Unger

Complain: Take Sad Song, Make It Better

Flip Complain to Access Flow

Today’s word-of-the-day selection is complain (v): 1. to express grief, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or dissatisfaction. He complained constantly about the noise in the corridor. 2. to tell of one’s pains, ailments, ect. to complain about a pain in one’s back. 3. to make a formal accusation. The ambassador complained about the student demonstrations. People complain in a lot of ways, but for the same reason. They repeat voiced negativity for emphasis. The scale of the message gets amplified when a concern is not being heard. That is why it is so important to flip an expression of pain or resentment before it gets turned into rage.

Journal to take a sad song and make it better. — Daily journaling helps you to get out of your own way to allow more creative flow into your writing.

Consider the lyrics of the Beatles’ song, Hey Jude, which advises Jude to take a sad song and make it better. The entire song gives a blueprint on how to heal. The song was composed by Paul McCartney to comfort Julian Lennon as his parents divorced. The expressed grief is cured through taking self-care steps to feel the pain of a family breakup. Flipping grief helps writers, too, to make it better. Especially after one too many rejections pop up in Submitable or in SNAIL mail.

Show Me What It Looks Like

Consciousness cures chronic complaining. My father, who passed away 22 years today, taught his children to switch up negative situations. He was a big believer in Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar, and Denis Waitley, who exuded positive mindset long before it became trendy. If any of us kids misplaced a shoe or a library book – or anything, really – Dad would inevitably say: Show me what it looks like and I’ll tell you where it is. Of course, this phrase sent the recipient back to the self-reliant task of finding the lost object. He probably had never heard of the metaphysical healer, Louise Hay, yet one of her mantras fit his situation re-framing thinking well: Out of this situation only good will come.

The Message of Complain

The message of this word is a cry for help: Will someone listen to me? I need attention. I need help with follow-through. I need to be recognized. There is a great meme that pops up frequently on my social media sites. It says Be the person you needed when you were a child. Each one of us has the intestinal fortitude to indeed take a sad song and make it better. The key is taking time to listen to our own thoughts. How? We can write stream-of-conscious journal entries, take a walk, or simply quietly sit with eyes shut. Then, listen to what comes up.

Your Turn

Take out your journal. Write about anything that annoys, enrages, or exhausts you. Then, flip the situation. Create ownership for creating the change needed. Finally, take a single action to move forward in a different direction.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa Moks-Unger

Scrabble Words for Flow

Create a Word Bank from Scrabble

Word Lists from Scrabble — First play the game, then get writing from your curated word list.

Sunday afternoons find my husband, mother-in-law, and I playing Scrabble. This ritual helps us to pass the time during the pandemic. The games usually run one to two hours. We have taken these games to a new level by anticipating them each week, then carefully crafting our word choices. It helps that all three of us are avid readers and come up with a variety of interesting diction.

Also, the game gets my mother-in-law’s mind off of the local paper’s with its teeming death notices of Covid-19 victims – most from local residential living facilities. And, she is now interested in the fact that I am using these word lists to write from professionally.

Next, free write for a few. Make a list of the words developed during the game. Then use the list as a springboard to write a creative piece using as many of the words as possible. Play with long and short lines. Add some rhymes. Look for alliteration. Give yourself about 10 minutes. See what images appear.

Then, select a genre or two to carry through. As a theme arises from the free write of the word list, follow the lead. Perhaps a poem rises up. Or, a one-act play. Or, both! Choose one genre knowing that you can come back and create more works from any single topic.

Now, it’s your turn! If you have a Scrabble game somewhere hidden in a hall closet, it is time to get it out and try your hand at this writing tactic. It employs procrastination by allowing you to blow off writing at first by playing a game. Then, you are rewarded for the time you invested in the game by writing a piece from the words you and others generated.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

TGIFF – Thank God It’s Friday Flow

Cliché Finds Flow on Friday

Congratulations, you’ve made it to Friday. And, at the workweek’s end, there is time to find flow. But, where do you go to find flow? First, realize that flow can happen anywhere at anytime. Need proof? Look at this past post on finding flow in a card and party goods store. Simply click right here: https://wewriteitright.com/visit-flow-in-a-party-goods-shop/

How Gratitude Leads the Way

Use grateful eyes to take in the world around you. Then, instead of planning to hit the bars and clubs when the clock strikes 5:00 PM, other options present themselves during these times of pandemic. Why not take a virtual tour a museum? Or, take a walk or bike ride through a park? Or, spend an hour working on a poem, and essay, or a blog post. When you are grateful for the options you have – even if you are working from home amid shutdowns – then that is enough.

Your Turn

Playtime creates greater flow. — Spirographs, Etch-a-Sketch, and Slinkys are just a few ways to re-enter flow through playtime. What was your favorite activity as a child? When was the last time you tried it as an adult?

Think back to grade school, junior high, or middle school. Think about the electives that you took that helped round out your schedule. Did you take dance or music classes? Weight training? Or, perhaps, like me, you did candle making. Whatever it might be, try to reunite your lost teen with your adult self. Take time to write, dance, sing, paint, or play with your Spirograph! You’ll be glad you did!

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa