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From Thoughts To Words

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Viswamitra, Sep 23, 2018.

  1. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi @Laks09,

    Thank you for taking the time to respond to this snippet.


    Most of us will look forward to it and I am sure Satchi will be delighted to have that kind of selection headaches rather than correcting the papers of her students.

    I already see that happening in your responses. I have read many valuable suggestions from you to the posters here.

    Thank God, it wasn't your husband who had a poor memory. :)

    Like someone said already, your husband is God.

    What is wrong in remaining young in spirit and why should you change? Apparently, your family loves you the way you are already.

    I look forward to reading your snippets.

    Viswa
     
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  2. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Thank you for noticing!

    I’m very high maintenance. He won’t dare forget birthday, anniversary, random facts about what I like etc.

    Which one? I’m getting concerned now. I love Guruvayurappan but can’t have my DH be that way ;)

    Who knows? The comments are always either: “That shirt; You look like a mom” or “Can you look more like a mom”. From what I gather looking “like a mom” isn’t something I should ever aspire to achieve. Of course, she can go back and forth about wanting me to look like a mom or not, based on various criteria which only she knows.
     
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  3. Ouroboros

    Ouroboros Silver IL'ite

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    For a long time, I was a sidelined observer in a private forum, mostly men, who engaged in hearty discussions on science, literature and arts. Though I was tempted to join the community to interact with these men, I was fearful of my insubstantial voice. The widespread men were 800-pound gorillas of impeccable style and expression in language and thoughts.

    At the spur of my friend, I finally joined the community with my dormouse voice.

    Coincidentally, around that time I was also corresponding with someone whose written English was superior to mine.

    In the first week of joining the private community, I insinuated myself in a rapturous tone with words like "amazing" and "exquisite" as gratifying niceties and swift feedback to every trending post. I scratched intense modifiers that were disproportional in reciprocation to even a deserving write-up. I assumed anything less in verbal strength would have communicated that I was underwhelmed by the exchange. I made a consummate fool of myself. Being a lady, that too a chirpy one, I could have been overlooked for my brassy disposition.

    Ashamed and burnt, I reflected. The correspondence and the private forum both catalyzed me to reinvent myself into a critical voice more than a fluffy voice. I learned to chat up through refined expressions of speech rather than inflated expressions. Be authenticate, yet discerning. That was a watershed moment in my writing foray. Like the possessed Dr Strange, I hoped to wander in Kamar-Taj and learn of the art of writing from some 'Scribe Supreme'. I didn't know where this mythical Kamar-Taj was located to book my ticket so I settled with popular books on Amazon on how to write concise and efficient.

    Hence my advice, never be complacent with one's writing chops and self-advise of being unique. I am this. I am like this only. This is me. Hmm?

    When you see people writing better than you do, and when you are enamored of something striking in them that you lack, and if you are have the passion and motivation and Dr Strange insanity in you to triumph over your verbal weaknesses, then import that distinction from them and reinvent yourself. Watch, emulate, cultivate, own the style! In a nutshell: To learn to write better is to imitate a style that you find better than yours. I might have keeled on sighting those men with impressive diction. But, you don't have to wait till you are ruffled. Good language comes with a lot of practice, and as I recount I still struggle, but it is a fulfilling path to gradually improve our self-expression.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2018
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  4. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Great advice.

    I agree the responses either overwhelm or underwhelm someone who makes a post. But why should you feel that you made a fool of yourself by such responses? You make a decision to post something whether it is well received or not, you can still have the satisfaction of posting something that you considered valuable. Do I have scope for improvement? Of course, yes. But I would never allow any responses to discourage me to write.

    I agree. Is writing all about good language? What one should do when they experience an enormously appealing thought with no corresponding ability to express himself/herself well?

    Hahaha. I understand your predicament. Even those books in Amazon and some famous coaches who tell you how to write a book are all probably telling you what you already know. It is after all a for profit effort. What we do here is exchange of ideas and no one is compelled to listen, practice or deliver.
     
  5. Ouroboros

    Ouroboros Silver IL'ite

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    • Their language was fluent with fewer words whereas mine was loaded with verbosity.
    • I could grasp their acute communication whereas my own response leached with ambiguous constructs.
    • I could not match their style of expression, thus faltered.
    • The men were educated in top business schools which reflected in their slick writing.
    • Fools don't blend in and ascend; but stand out and attract. Hence that metaphor. They command attention for the wrong reasons.

    I was not discouraged but enraged. Discouraged souls don't commit themselves to anything but moan around and wake up to tranquil possession the following day with trumped up self-esteem. In that group, I decided to be enraged to acquire rather than invent esteem. Some people are like that when they are bored. Don't know why they are so. Not that they are fidgety but they love to trouble themselves. They find such undertaking amusing and playful.

    I am enamored of, though now dated, Safir-Whorf hypothesis. If I cannot word it then I could not be mindful about it. Language guides our thoughts more than vice versa. My agency to think is contingent and proportional to my faculty to communicate. Until I know how to word it, I have only prospected an elusive thought. The (enormously appealing) thought features in my mind, but its appeal and enormousness is conceived in my tongue, till then it is just an amorphous thought.

    The intent of my earlier post was to softly dissuade the reader from selling themselves short. If you like something in others then transform that into a tangible aspiration. I'm generally attracted to good language in others. It's just my krytonite, not a statute.
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2018
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  6. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    I have understood the objective and thank you for summarizing it nicely.

    This is a debate by itself and this may not be the right place to do so.

    Tail eating reptile is a new Avatar? :)

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Viswa, I wrote two snippets in two weeks. In the words of my favorite 5 year old, "Are you so proud of me?" :innocent::blush:
     
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  8. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    @Rihana,

    I sure am. It is very exciting to see so many responding positively to your writing style. :)
     
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  9. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Viswa, felt like posting a one-year update and also to give credit where it's due. That dear 5 year old is now 6 years old and her favorite exclamation is, "I did it." : )

    I did it too. Managed to write a lot this year. This is writing outside of IL/internet and mostly read by a handful only. Cobbled together my own methods with the primary motto being 'done is better than perfect.'

    For some reason, I associate this thread with the start of my 'make writing a daily habit' effort. So, the name for that column in my habit tracker was VR for a while. I use code there as it is a paper/pencil tracker, and I worry about others reading it. : ) VR meant VishwaRoopam. : ) :facepalm: :blush:
     
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  10. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Rihana,

    I am glad you posted a response here and I am glad you have written so many snippets here in IL. I read everyone of them including your latest May Your Best Saree(s) Win!. I was half tempted to write a response and then realize that it is for the ladies to post their best memories about their saree(s). It may not be a right place for me to comment on and hence liked it and moved on.

    I am glad you are writing outside of IL/internet as well with keen interest. I like your motto. Trying to achieve perfection would only delay things and our own experience of writing will make us write better and better.

    VR as a screen name for the habit tracker? You deserve to enjoy the attached trailer.



    Note: I preserve the book cover you have made for me like a treasure and if I end up writing a book, I will use it as the cover.
     

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