When I was a young girl, I think my mom suggested each of us girls should start “collecting” something. I got into teddy bears for awhile, then baseball cards. Those collections have long been donated or passed on, but I still keep my prism collection in the kitchen window. Today, I would say I have a special affinity toward collecting books, pretty things made out of glass, fitness DVDs, pretty fabrics and vintage ephemera.

But there’s one collection that I hadn’t really noticed before: Word Collections. I guess, being a writer, it just comes naturally to pay strong attention to words and descriptions. I will often read and re-read really captivating or thoughtful descriptions, hoping maybe I’ll remember the sentiment again someday. While reading magazines on the treadmill, my subconscious is always pointing out great word phrases that I could use at work. See, I like to write them on subscription cards from my fitness magazines…

Words that resonate with me (you have to understand the word nerdy-ness of a writer) are noted in my writing journal.

Sometimes they return again in a poem. Sometimes they’re just there to trigger a thought. Sometimes they help me to explain things better. Oh yeah, maybe it helps build a better vocabulary too.

I started another word list in the notebook journal I carry around everywhere. Mostly these are “nice” words that I like to think about on an inspirational vintage book page:

This last one is my word collection from work. It helps me with product descriptions and such. I have a whole section dedicated to “color” descriptions and phrases that mean “fast.” I have over 90 of those. Haha!

I can’t always keep this many words in my head at one time. It helps to record them, especially when I hit a block. 

So my advice to other blog writers, and writers in general, is to keep a running list of word inspiration like this. I really think it helps your words stay fresh. Otherwise, just meditate on pretty words like “composure” when you’re stressed out.

Great writers know that reading is one of the most important things that they can do to improve their craft. And here’s another reason why. It’s not always the content itself that inspires writing, but the form the writing takes. I remember reading a book in high school and the teacher asked us to write about one thing we learned from the book. I wrote about how the book opened me up to a completely different style of writing.

The book in question was written completely in vignettes. It didn’t read like a regular book with a build-up, climax, and falling action. The vignettes were sort of scattered, but still contributed to the overall story. I remember thinking: “this is truly brilliant.” I can do that! That’s how my mind works anyhow, in bits and scattered chunks.

In college, we read poems and then copied their forms or subjects in our own way. Recently, I read a book that I’ve mentioned before called Wear More Cashmere. The style of that book and its celebration of womanhood has spawned some amazing writing ideas inside of me, but that I would like to express in my own way.

I can’t wait to get started!