Tasting and Savoring Your Words

Sometimes, we know what we want to say, but don't always know how to say it. If that sounds familiar, it might be because I've mentioned it before. However, there are two more techniques that can also help with these problems.

The first technique is tasting your words. This comes from a friend of mine who describes it thusly: When I 'taste my words', I mentally roll them over my tongue. Which one is right, how should I phrase this, what's a better way to say that? If something doesn't fit, I try to trim it down or replace it.

Tasting your words is useful when you are staring at a blank page and aren't sure where to start. Sometimes, though, we plow ahead and rush through a passage just to get it done. This is the dark side of "say what you're trying to say, then write it." Speech is generally more clumsy than writing. When you directly put your speech on paper, your writing bcomes clumsy. This is why you savor your words.

Whether you do this as you write or as you edit, it works the same way. Read your own words. Read them slowly. Say them out loud, or at least say them out loud in your head. Pronounce each word clearly and fully. When you do this, your natural rhythm will kick in. At that point, you will instantly feel when your writing isn't smooth. It makes you trip over yourself or it makes you take breaths in awkward places just to try to finish a sentence. Let each word take its own moment in the spotlight. If any words try to hog that light, then throw them out. No divas in your writing.