Have You Ever Run Out of Words?
I'm back and feeling better than ever
It’s been a minute since I wrote my last newsletter, and I’m sorry I disappeared without a trace. First, I lost my writing voice and then my confidence, so I’ve been spending my time exercising my creative muscle through writing drabbles on Medium.
Drabbles are stories of exactly one hundred words, no more, no less.
I’ve written over sixty since January 1st, and I’m still going strong.
So, has writing with a limited word count daily translated into becoming a woman of fewer words? When conversing, do I now get right to the point or still run circles around it?
I’m sure it won’t surprise you. It’s the latter. I talk as much as before, and even while you speak. It boils down to how my brain is wired. If you speak to me with limited information, I’ll ask questions to fill in the blanks. I know it makes me weird.
You want to tell me that on the way home, you stopped to pick up a loaf of bread, and I’m asking you if it was snowing and if you have snow tires, which store you went to, and whether the bread was on sale. And then I’d likely throw in an ask whether you used a cashier or self-checkout.
You wonder what any of that has to do with your story, the one which recounts your day. What you don’t realize is that to understand what you’re saying, I must first paint a picture. It’s how I break down information.
Doesn’t everyone do that?
While I can draw my own conclusions, only you can paint the pictures, or I risk picturing it wrong and making false assumptions.
So, here I am, explaining how my brain operates to help you understand what makes me tick and why, when you speak, I may sound so annoying.
Today, I have a busy day. Should I leave it at that, or are you interested in knowing that the sun is shining and that Huey, my cat, is blissfully lapping up a bowl of chicken gravy? How about wanting to learn that I’m on my second cup of coffee before I think about housework?
Regarding reading, I prefer writers who leave out a lot of detail. I gravitate toward books that say so much with few words, hence one reason I love drabbles but not a few words in conversation.
When you speak with me, I don’t mind you becoming a hamster on a verbal wheel of words, but just be sure you give room for pause.
Now, it’s my turn to pause. I’d love to hear from you.
Do you ask many random, off-the-wall questions to gain understanding when someone speaks, or do you take their words at face value?
What are these drabbles I’m talking about? Have a peek. Each fictional story centers around a daily word.
It’s not every day you see a naked woman
Love in the unlikeliest of places
I look forward to sharing more stories with you in April.
Have a super fun day.
Here are my thoughts: I am a blogger who writes about life experiences - here's the thing, I find blogging to be completely diff from say writing a short story or a novel - but I agree, the less said is more - again I write with my niche and the audience who would be reading me in mind - so if I were to write about my day - there would def be spice in it hehe ;))
Hi, Karen! I didn't realize you were on Substack.
As far as running out of words, yes, I keep it short. I only tend to speak when I feel I have something (somewhat) worth saying.