What I Want My Words To Do

We all want to be heard and understood.

Oftentimes, we do this through the stories we tell.
Our DNA is wired to tell, share and embrace stories.

But what makes a story memorable?

It’s the way we weave our words together.

Stories are powerful.

When I was a child, stories saved my life as I retold a ghost stories so I wouldn’t fall victim to a ghastly character assassination.


Whether our purpose is
to persuade,
inspire,
instruct,
explain
or entertain . . .

it begins with the words . . . . . . . .

What we really want our words to do . . . . . .
. . . . to you . . . . . the audience.

Storytelling is a process, a discovery process.
Before a single word is spoken, it is written.

Whether etched in our minds
inked with pen on paper
or choreographed in a dance
we search,
organize,
and dig deeper
to uncover the best way to express our message.

We want to ensure what we want our words to do, gets done.

Writing the right words
to evoke emotion,
uncover a deeper understanding
and creatively craft a story . . . . .
a story about what we want our words to do to you.

I’ve written poetry most of my life. . .
but I never really thought about why . . . . .

I just wrote
to be heard,
in hopes of being understood
to unleash the tide of emotion that was bottled up inside of me

I was lucky to have my writing.
It gave me a voice,
even though I didn’t have an audience.
I wrote just for me.

To get my feelings out . . . .
to say on the silence of the page
stop the hurt,
rekindle the love,
I will survive

My poems provided me with a way to tell my story
and go back and reflect on what I did,
how much I’d grown
and what I wanted for the future.

With understanding,
we create the ability to choose differently,
to stop the cycle of insanity,
or relish in the ecstasy.

Everyone just wants to be heard,
to be understood
and to understand . . .

. . . our circumstances,
our choices
and our stories.

Whether our purpose is to
persuade,
inspire,
instruct,
explain or
entertain . . .

. . . it begins with words.

Write it out . . .your story deserves to be heard
Everyone has a story someone in the world needs to hear.
​
As you craft your story, carefully contemplate:
What do you want your words to do?