Wordsmiths

 

Remember, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” or “Call me Ishmael.”? How about, “I had this tale from one who had no right to tell it.” Words evoke images, fears and hopes and can leave an indelible mark on those who read them. A novel that begins with, “Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith.” changed my life and the lives of thousands, perhaps millions of people and continues to have a profound effect more than half a century after being published. And, who can forget, “In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit.”? These were more than writers – they were Wordsmiths. Like the legendary Japanese sword maker, Muramasa, whose blades outlived him; the creations of these Wordsmiths: Dickens; Melville; Burroughs;  Heinlein; and Tolkien; live on long after their mortal lives ended.

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When I grow up, I wanna be like them!

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The concept for a book or a story or poem is like the raw iron. We heat it, hammer it, shape it, quench it and then do it all over again. And again! And again!  A Muramasa katana is hammered flat, then folded over and hammered flat again. And again! And again! When finished, it has over one million layers. With hard work, we writers eventually get the shape and the steel the way we want it. Then we have to sharpen it. Finally, we have to polish it!

 

I am a writer. I hope, one day, to be a Wordsmith.

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