Bloggercises: Make it sing 2
October 1st 2008 23:56
In her wonderful book Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert has a moment of soaring realisation. Gilbert, an American, is in Italy pursuing a dream to learn Italian. On page 104 of the book, we find her in a train chatting to a young local man who, with forthright smile and evocative words, is obviously trying to hit on her.
The writer's first response is to be pleased that someone much younger finds her attractive. Then comes the bombshell: all this is happening in Italian, and she is coping with the conversation. After all the study, suddenly here she is, speaking conversational Italian.
Now, how to convey to the reader the wonder of the moment in something other than mundane language and multiple exclamation marks?
Gilbert wrote, "The kid thinks I like him, but it's the words I'm flirting with. My God - I have decanted myself! I have uncorked my tongue and Italian is pouring forth!"
It's a beautiful metaphor, the kind that makes me laugh out loud with pleasure. The three words which hold it together are decanted, uncorked and pouring. Gilbert could have written, "At that moment, my life changed." Instead, she made it sing.
Remember the words of our two great guides (see Make it sing 1: For he's a jolly good bellow) on the subject: Mark Twain, who said, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug," and The Round Mound of Sound, who said, "Make it sing."
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