Thursday, August 15, 2013

The C Word



So many of the things I love start with the letter C: cookies, coffee, Clive Owen, colons (the punctuation mark, not the intestine), cheese, cash, and charisma. However, I’d have to say that creativity is probably my favorite. 

One of my favorite incarnations of creativity is when people use items in a novel way. For example, one of my friends turned an old crib into an outdoor bench. On Pinterest, I saw that someone used a birdcage as a desk organizer. And I often use my bedroom floor as a clothes hamper.

I also love when people use language in novel ways, and that’s why I am such a fan of metaphors and similes. Effectively using metaphors and similes can also make our writing one of my other favorite C words: concise. For example, Steinbeck described a character as having “skin like clean and polished bone.”  By comparing her skin to polished bone, we get such a vivid image of the color and texture of her skin--in just two words!

Similarly, in an essay, one of my students referred to her boyfriend as her “currant boyfriend.”

In just one little word, she conveyed that her boyfriend is small, dry, wrinkled—but sweet.

14 comments:

Andrew Leon said...

I don't think I would want to date a currant. Of course, I've never had an actual currant; I've only had them in things.

That made me laugh. What you said, not what I said. Or, actually, what she said.

Grandma Yellow Hair said...

So nice to meet you! I am looking forward to getting to know you and following your great blog.
Thanks for finding me so I could find you. lol
Maggie

DiscConnected said...

As a CPA, I must point out that Steinbeck used six words...

And if your student wants to date a boy who looks like a raisin, who are we to judge?

After all, she's really just getting ahead of the curve-at some point, we all end up looking like prunes!

LC

Anonymous said...

C is for Cooper, Bradley. He's my new fave. I'm fickle about my faves. My old fave was Clooney, George.

Shelly said...

Hahahahahahaha!!!!

Felt Family said...

I turned our old crib into a gate for the goat pen. My husband saw it and said he was sure he could hear banjo music playing. Maybe I should have married a currant instead of a goat-pen snob.

the late phoenix said...

C is for cookie,
that's good enough for me.
D is for diabeetus,
sadly, now i see...

Jo-Ann S said...

But no chocolate on that list???

Oh, Missed. What are you missing out on?

James Garcia Jr said...

Ah-ha! Great! I blog to get away from the business of raisins and other fruits that we package at Sun-Maid Growers of California. But, no! You had to bring currants up! :)
Just kidding. Currants or okay, but you have to eat a lot of them to get anything out of it.
How's my favorite teacher? Wait! Don't tell my teacher-wife I said that. Um, er, let's just call it a tie, shall we? ;)

-Jimmy

Jono said...

In a few more years I hope I should be so lucky as to have a "currant" wife or girlfriend.

Anonymous said...

Well I have to say when I read the C- word I wasnt thinking that word...glad to see I was wrong on which one this post was about!

Lorena said...

"And I often use my bedroom floor as a clothes hamper."

Ha ha ha!

I'm glad I don't have one of those boyfriends. ;-)

Kelly Polark said...

Ha ha!

My kids like to tell people that I use the C-word a lot. And I do! But I say, "CRAP!" when I'm frustrated. Not any other C-word. Which is why use another C- word, CLARIFY, to those people so they understand which word I DON"T say in front of my children! (or ever for that matter!) :)

Theresa Milstein said...

Aw, I wonder if her boyfriend is Hugh Hefner.