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Mar. 27th, 2008 12:50 pmI ought to be thinking about teaching. In my favour, I've almost packed my teaching bags already and just have ten minutes preparation to go. This means I ought to be thinking about the long list of things I have to do today. If they're all finished by the time I teach, then I get the evening off. And yes, I need the evening off. I woke up refreshed this morning, but the pain is back and I seem to have lost that spare neck I keep for moments like this. It's probably hiding with my spare housekeys.
Anyhow, what I'm actually thinking about instead of teaching (and tonight's class is a sad one - full of forgotten people and their cuisines) or my list (twelve items long - finally, I've broken away from the number ten!) and the sense that I can't write fiction (don't worry, it will pass - it's part of the joy of not having much self-faith, which is one of my abiding personality flaws) is words.
I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. Lines and lines and lines all building up to five letters.
The words that strike me today are ones that I use in my writing (more in my non-fiction than fiction) but which I don't use when I'm speaking. I used to use them when I talked, but I became tired of people asking "What does 'eschew' mean?"
I came across 'eschew' as a word that no-one uses unless they're writing pretentious reviews or equivalent. I realised that - at least for me - that's not it at all. There's a whole slew of words I restrict my public delight in, simply because there's a limit to how many times a day I'm willing to be a walking dictionary.
The last definition I gave as walking dictionary was for 'utopia' and yes, I not only referred to the book but to the ultimate fate of the author. This is why I don't dare invent words: look what happened to Thomas More.
Anyhow, what I'm actually thinking about instead of teaching (and tonight's class is a sad one - full of forgotten people and their cuisines) or my list (twelve items long - finally, I've broken away from the number ten!) and the sense that I can't write fiction (don't worry, it will pass - it's part of the joy of not having much self-faith, which is one of my abiding personality flaws) is words.
I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. Lines and lines and lines all building up to five letters.
The words that strike me today are ones that I use in my writing (more in my non-fiction than fiction) but which I don't use when I'm speaking. I used to use them when I talked, but I became tired of people asking "What does 'eschew' mean?"
I came across 'eschew' as a word that no-one uses unless they're writing pretentious reviews or equivalent. I realised that - at least for me - that's not it at all. There's a whole slew of words I restrict my public delight in, simply because there's a limit to how many times a day I'm willing to be a walking dictionary.
The last definition I gave as walking dictionary was for 'utopia' and yes, I not only referred to the book but to the ultimate fate of the author. This is why I don't dare invent words: look what happened to Thomas More.