by
Crymsyn Hart
The English language never ceases to amaze me. Recently, I was browsing through the television channels, hoping to find something interesting to watch while I was writing. Instead, I was hit with the same commercial on two stations. It was nothing more than a store advertising different electronics, but they made a comparison to the word jam, one in the sense of the jelly you spread on toast and another meaning in regards to music. And it yet it also means to wedge something tightly between two surfaces.
There are many other words that have dual or multiple meanings that are spelled the same and others that are slightly different spelling, but still sound the same. Think of all those words. Then think of the poor author who has to use the right word, with the correct meaning, and hopefully the property spelling. Do you feel bad for us now? 🙂
As a reader, I take in what an author puts down on the page and hope to maybe pick up a word or two. As a writer, I find myself writing a sentence with the word that I desire to use, but I most of the time it never comes out. Think of it as having the word on the tip your tongue when you want to speak and just doesn’t work. Then, during the editing process, I am likely to find that perfect word. But sometimes, it evades me so I have to choose another that means the same. And then the editor gets involved, and finds another word to use for you. It can all be very frustrating.
But that is the way of words.
