Guest Post - 'The Word Hunter' by Michael Allan Mallory
Joel says: I had the privilege of sharing a table of contents with Michael Allan Mallory in Nodin Press's Resort to Murder anthology, and got to know him a little bit in the resultant book signings/appearances for RTM. He, along with co-author Marilyn Victor, have penned two novels in the Snake Jones Zoo Mysteries, a series which features a unique sleuth in zoologist Lavender 'Snake' Jones. I've read the first of these novels, Death Roll, and aside from being a well-written and engaging mystery, it gives an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at what may or may not be a thinly disguised version of our own Minnesota Zoo.
I asked Mr. Mallory if he'd consider contributing a guest post for my blog, and he sent me this fun piece about something all writers must face; finding just the right word.
Here's Michael:
'The Word Hunter
The rain forest is a living thing that consumes all who enter. Monster trees, poisonous plants and dangerous swamps lay in wait. Yet hidden among the foliage lurks the ultimate prize: the perfect word. For this is the Writer’s Jungle, a place that exists only in the mind of the author, a sometimes forbidding wilderness of language.
The act of writing does not come easily for me. While I can visualize scenes, landscapes, and characters in my head with motion picture clarity, capturing those images into words—the right words---can be a challenge. That’s the struggle of the writing craft, hacking through the undergrowth of the English language in search of the elusive word. And so many words, so many nuances. None of them exactly right. Then, close by, something scampers in the bushes. You catch a glimpse of it: the perfect word! Can you snare it? The prey scurries deeper into the safety of thorn-covered weeds and stares back at you with mocking eyes.
The lexicon jungle is a harsh environment. But the Word Hunter grips his machete and forges on because he must. The perfect word has moved into a clearing.'
Death Roll
Death Roll (ebook version)
Killer Instinct
I asked Mr. Mallory if he'd consider contributing a guest post for my blog, and he sent me this fun piece about something all writers must face; finding just the right word.
Here's Michael:
'The Word Hunter
The rain forest is a living thing that consumes all who enter. Monster trees, poisonous plants and dangerous swamps lay in wait. Yet hidden among the foliage lurks the ultimate prize: the perfect word. For this is the Writer’s Jungle, a place that exists only in the mind of the author, a sometimes forbidding wilderness of language.
The act of writing does not come easily for me. While I can visualize scenes, landscapes, and characters in my head with motion picture clarity, capturing those images into words—the right words---can be a challenge. That’s the struggle of the writing craft, hacking through the undergrowth of the English language in search of the elusive word. And so many words, so many nuances. None of them exactly right. Then, close by, something scampers in the bushes. You catch a glimpse of it: the perfect word! Can you snare it? The prey scurries deeper into the safety of thorn-covered weeds and stares back at you with mocking eyes.
The lexicon jungle is a harsh environment. But the Word Hunter grips his machete and forges on because he must. The perfect word has moved into a clearing.'
Death Roll
Death Roll (ebook version)
Killer Instinct
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