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Panhandling my way through life

Writer's picture: Tessa FloreanoTessa Floreano


Gold nuggets
Gold nuggets. Original image courtesy of James St. John Flickr Creative Commons

The signature line on my personal email is, Wordsmithing my way through life, one story at a time. However, after reading Elizabeth Berg's article, I might need a slight revision.

In her Medium.com article, What It Takes To Be A Writer, Elizabeth recommends a writer needs to be a panhandler: "You need to collect all you notice and then sift through it for the gold; you need to be discerning. You need a sense of restraint, a sense of timing. You need to know when to hold back and when to put those nuggets in; your writing should be like a river, flowing, changing, bringing the reader along on an unpredictable ride."

Oooh, the nuggets of gold is a terrific image when it comes to finding the rights words for a character to express himself or herself.

And so, thanks to Elizabeth Berg for the inspiration, here's my revised sig line and writerly motto:

Panhandling and wordsmithing my way through life

Hmmm...

It has a nice ring. It flows. It makes sense in my world.

Your turn.

Elizabeth's recommendation works well for writers though I believe any creative professional can assume the mantle of panhandler. Do you see yourself as one?

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