Word A Day

     My word today was askance (courtesy of Merriam-Webster via my inbox). I like this word, because as soon as I read it I had a mini movie playing in my head. I could clearly see the main male character looking at my heroine out of the corner of his eye. It was a kind of hungry look. The image was very clear and lasted only a moment, but even now I can still see it though it is not as clear as it once was. I thought in that moment, I must use this word in my novel. Today! Right now!
     As a writer we often forget how important words are, mostly because we are wading through them by the hundreds in a day or even an hour. Meaning carries weight with experience. We each bring our own interpretations to the work, even as a writer we are building worlds from our own vast imaginations and limited experience. And sometimes we can become stuck on finding just the right word, searching through dictionaries, thesauruses and coming up short. How many times have I looked for a word that was on the tip of my tongue and only found a pale comparison? Too many. There was a time when words were new, and every one I learned was like a gold star beside my name.
     I remember learning to read in my early teens, that is not to say that I couldn't read at all, I just did it very poorly and I hated it because I was so bad at it. Eight grade was when I found my love for reading and devoured book after book. I started my own dictionary. As I read there were words that I didn't understand, or wasn't sure if I was getting the meaning right with the context and so I would look them up and write down the definitions. After a while I had to write down less and less words until I no longer needed to look something up. I am not a walking dictionary, but in daily life and reading I can say with confidence that I am a very proficient reader and yet some words still strike me.
     I know some one may think it's silly, but I have a few favorite words. Pugnacious which is an adjective and means to show a willingness or desire to fight or argue (definitions thanks to Merriam-Webster Online dictionary, www.m-w.com). My family doesn't swear, like ever, and so my favorite swear word is Fustian. While the definition dose not conjure the meaning I have for the word, I enjoy a Victorian blue-stocking sort of heroine that often utters this phrase under her breath. (I'' leave you to look up the definition for yourself!)
    So what is your favorite word? Is it old-fashioned? Modern slang? Something you read or something you heard? What does it mean to you?

Good Night my fellow writers and WRITE ON!