I'm Addicted to Words

There is no doubt about it, I am addicted to words. I'm not talking about your word of the day type obsession, although that’s pretty cool too.  I'm talking about the act of taking innocuous words and crafting them into meaningful prose, sentences joined into paragraphs that can make you laugh or cry or rip your hair out in frustration. I love to write, and anyone serious about writing must put pen to paper or fingers to keys with regularity. So here I am at one in the morning, probably making no sense at all, but writing none-the-less. That’s what happens when I play basketball at night; it takes me forever to fall asleep, so I write. Although my addiction to words goes much deeper than just writing. Do you know how many times a day I open my e-mail account hoping to see an e-mail from my brother and current editor in chief? I won’t tell you, but it might classify me as obsessive compulsive. I hope to hear those three beautiful words in my head every time I check—you've got mail. Confession--I've never had an AOL email account. I just love the idea. But it’s not just any mail I’m looking for, it’s my brother’s detailed responses to the chapters I send him week after week after week. Occasionally I get an EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD, and I break out into my victory dance. But even when the page is covered in virtual red ink, I’m never discouraged because it fascinates me to read my work through someone else’s eyes, especially one whose eyes have been expertly trained to read, dissect, and triage the literary work of others. It also helps knowing that I have VETO power, although, I have to admit I rarely use it with the Z-man at my side. Yes, I’m addicted, but remember, some addictions can be good, so for all you word freaks out there--this post's for you.