Fun with One Syllable
Kathryn Wilkens -- October 26, 2008
We love words, but less can be more. In this tour de force Kathryn Wilkens shows us that short words can do the trick. Hint: look at the words contained in this piece... count the large ones.
I love short words. When I write, I like them more than great, big, long ones (though those words have their place). They have come down to us through time and serve us well. This may sound a bit like what a child would write, but give it some thought. You'll see that much of the time you can say what you need to say with short words.
It's not just me. Read these first lines (I'll bet you know who wrote them). I think you'll see that short words can house deep thoughts.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times...
I heard a fly buzz when I died...
Whose woods these are I think I know...
Those long words we got from Greece and Rome--who needs them? Our brains have to work so hard to get their gist. And when we write, long words tend to slow down our prose. Of course, I know we need big words at times, but I still think small ones are best. They zoom off the page and fly straight to our minds. And they speak to the heart--words like love, home, child, hearth, joy, bread, truth and warmth. But they're not all sweet and bright; short words can be dark, too: grieve, death, pain, weep, starve, doom, hurt.
Short words let us view things in our mind's eye: red, bird, tree, green, rose, black, moon, lake, sea, stone, hill--I could go on and on, but I think you catch my drift. Some of them smell good, like pine, hay, and mint. Some can make us hear sounds: screech, thump, bray, and hush. Words like chill, rough, itch--we feel them on our skin. And can't you just taste the words peach, tea, lime, broth and cream?
The best verbs are the brief ones that pack a punch: ache, cheat, cringe, dwell, fetch, hoist, jolt, lunge, ooze, sing, spew, thrash, veer, writhe. You can think of tons more, I'm sure.
Most short words have been part of our tongue for a long, long time. But some are new, like bling, blog, and phish. Then there are old nouns which now are used as verbs, like to text and to punk. Will these slang words last? Time will tell.
Short words are crisp and terse. Sure, they can be blunt (You jerk! Get out of here! I hate you!), but at least they tell it like it is.
So, next time you sit down to write, see if you can dredge up strong nouns and verbs that have stood the test of time. They'll work hard for you. Like an ox with a plow, they pull their weight. Like bricks, they add strength to what you write. Like colts that run down a hill, they move your prose and verse at a fast clip.
It blows my mind to know how much can be said with short words. But if you still like long words more, by all means use them. They will make you feel oh so smart.
As for me, I'll stick with words that don't take up too much space on the page, words that are full of force, grace, strength and life.