I Used a Bad Word.

I think I must be turning into a writer or something. I think this because long after I posted my last post, it kept scratching at my brain. Not the whole thing really, just one word, The last word. It kept popping into my head like a skinny little meerkat popping up out of its hole to check for invaders.

Before to long I realized I had used a bad word. No, not a cuss word, but a bad word. No, not inherently bad, not a word that started fighting in grade school, robbing in high school and killing in college and is now doing a life sentence in San Quentin, no, not a bad seed word. Just a bad choice of the last -stepping- off -into- the- void word. Meaning not the best word to end the post with. The last word echoes in the readers brain, and is the last impression fused to the readers tender mind.

I did not go back immediately and change the word, I was kind of busy and I still hadn't decided what to change the word to. There were so many choices. A bevy of words presented themselves to my brain and said " will I do?". Most were rejected after a quick look, some made it to a first then second audition.

I still hadn't decided what the new star of the last line of my last post would be when I made a huge mistake. I picked up the new Dean Koontz novel. I settled into the couch and started reading and the horror overtook me within moments. Dean is a master of the good word. No, I don't mean the Bible, I mean the bestest word for the moment in any narrative. He is an artist, painting grand swaths of color, texture and feeling into each sentence. His descriptions are indescribable. You don't have to read the whole book to be entertained, although it would be a mistake not to. You really just have to start reading the book and you will find each sentence a joy, a masterpiece, an example of perfect word choice.

I went to bed after Odd Thomas and the girl sprinted themselves out of harms way for the first time. I say the first time because being a Dean Koontz fan I know that this is just the first brush with- well, I can't tell you who, and just the first of many times in the story that our hero, Odd, will sprint out of danger. Now the girl is with , well I can't say who she is with while Odd is, oh I can't tell you that either.

Even as I slept the word came back to taunt me. Bad word, bad word, bad choice of word. I saw 3 story brick letters in my dreams, lined up to spell out the many good words available to fill the ending word spot in my post. I was not disturbed by this dream, just fascinated with all the words I could choose. Upon awaking I went directly to the computer, right to this blog and inserted my new word into the starring role in my last post, the ending word.

Now my mind is resting easier, good word in place. I must be turning into a writer or something.