As usual, it took me some time to finish as I was looking up unknown words, some of them are quite delicious. For example, the word "rigmarole". In some cases, it could be an elegant replacement for annoying "etcetera."
Every time I am surprised about your fluency and ease with which you describe a scene and abundance of appropriate details. It seems that you don't even work hard on choosing the words, but they flow naturally.
Are you pulling all this out of your memory? What I mean is how much of it is an account of real-life and how much of it is imagined?
I do enjoy your 'chat' mgaft1. It is such a privilege to be helping someone improve their vocabulary while they are enjoying themselves.
I wonder if you are aware how perspicacious (aware, sharp, intelligent) your comments are.
You are using words in an unusual way that work. How daring you are to say some of my words are 'quite delicious'.
Usually used, as I'm sure you know, for food but in this cheeky sense it works describing good words as good enough to eat!
Every thing I use in my writing has been experienced by me in my quite long life. I retired from teaching English some years ago and I remember details quite well. I adore stories that other people tell me and sometimes I borrow or at least I'm inspired by what they tell me.
So I combine many different bits and pieces from books I've read, good magazines (and the odd bit of rubbish!) but mostly from my own experience.
I have done quite a lot of public speaking and making up speeches makes one do research and talk to interesting people.
In short I'm fascinated by life and enjoy putting my ideas down.
One big thing:
once I've got the story down (often life lessons in story form) I read, edit, check so that usually I am satisfied that the story flows and it is easy for the reader to follow.
You have paid me the extraordinary compliment of telling me that I have succeeded.
Thanks a million.
I'm posting something especially for you today. I have been thinking of WORDS and how to bring them alive. I hope that you read it.
Thank you! I enjoy reading your stories and not only for its plotline but also because of richness and fluency of your phrase construction, and I am trying to absorb English semantic pattern that is so characteristic of your writing.
When I write a story it is usually 95% imagined as I didn't have so much experience communicating with people. Consequently, my stories are not retrospective, process-oriented and generously sprinkled with so many lively details. I use only as many details as necessary to understand what's going on in the story and to propel it forward it to its final point.
All that is to say that I will try (as time permits) to read everything that you write and learn.
Cheers!
I've only just found this gem of a reply! Sorry I have been tardy in replying.
I have read your work and now that I understand the way you think and write, a little better, I 'get' where you're coming from. You have a completely different way of expressing your ideas from mine and that is brilliant.
I have to dig deep to follow your thought processes.....mine are so light and superficial by comparison.
BUT
just as sunshine sparkles on the surface of the sea, so there are hidden depths in which leviathons swim.........
Yin and Yang ......I'm so glad that we are all so different and yet can connect through words. Amazing to me.
Thank you! I don't find your writing superficial. Your comparison is exactly right. Although the subject is usually light, a reader feels like s/he is looking through the deep clear water. That depth emerges through an abundance of lively details and the wide lens narrative allowing a reader to make their own conclusions about what's going on. In my writing, I am sort of leading a reader by hand like a blindfolded person. )))