What's In A Word?

Mystified. How many times have you heard that word? What was the occasion that roused it from your senses to your mind, when it fell as a whisper to your heart? Here is another one: ethereal. "She was mystified by the veil of soft color. It graced the razor edged cliff like a green, mossy cloak, ethereal in its grand fashion, as oft mother nature is wont to display." (Excerpt from my current manuscript, American Dream: The Eagle and the Lion)I love the use of descriptive words, and not just the simple, vague kind...I like the whoppers! Oblivious, iridescent, sublime, benevolent, malevolent, precipice, and a host many other words that can take a simple yawn of a sentence and turn it into a jaw dropping sigh of delight! When writing I have always attempted to write lines that take the reader on an adventure through every page, not just a walk. When writing a story about something that takes place in the past, I truly want the reader to feel as if they are there, experiencing the sights, sounds, and even smells that the characters are engaged in.How wonderful it is when you take a sentence such as, "It was the most beautiful garden she had ever seen," and transform it into, "Here was a celestial vision, or was it a dream? This was beauty such as she had never before seen. The abundance of flowers swayed in an ethereal dance, choreographed to perfection, their colors advancing and retreating simultaneously. The wind shifted slightly and she took in a deep breath of floral bliss, smiling as a cadence of song fell gently from the trees. Every bird carried its own harmony, yet the unison was perfection, and it completed her soul."My message for January and this new year is that we all write well! This is the year to get the stories out of your head and onto paper! Let us command beautiful words to weave wonderful tales! Such things are needed in these times. Happy January, and let's have a grand year!