Today’s article will focus on words. Yes, words. The spotlight will land on the value and impact of words. With the explosion of social media, it seems as if we, as a country, as human beings in the U.S. have lost the understanding of the true treasure of words. There’s a saying that when everything is special, then nothing is. With so many words on cell phones tweets, on Twitter, on Facebook, on the Internet, and blogs, it may seem they have lost their purpose, their impact.
Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble. –Yehuda Berg
You may cry, “What about actions? They speak louder than words!” Indeed, one’s actions reveal the discrepancy between their words and what people do; however, I would argue that words in absence of observable actions, such as written words and spoken words, are just as powerful if not more so than actions. Just look at the impact of Internet trolls on celebrities and the average human being on social media.
As an author, educator, and mom, I agree with Yehuda Berg’s quote. When I sit down to write a story, I have not only a responsibility to my characters, but also the audience who may read my works. This is why representation in fandom is so important as well. Words have impact. Words have weight.
Let’s take for example the word, diversity. It’s no secret that this word has caused many of ugly words, conversations, and actions in the science fiction and fantasy community. The roar of inclusion of various ethnicities and genders has caused a rift between warring parties within the genres. Yet, diversity itself is not an inflammatory word per se. The mere suggestion to a magazine editor to include “diverse voices,” sometimes solicits responses such as: “I don’t read for diversity. It’s got to be a good story.” Or, “I don’t care what the author look like. I read for story.”
On their face, both of these statements see perfectly logical. Of course the editor or acquisitions manager will read for a good story; however, the statement also implies that diverse voices don’t have good story. The second statement implies that the author’s identity is separated from their writing, which any author will tell you isn’t true. Again, words have impact and power. Editors who say this promote a sense of arrogance, too, in that they don’t feel it necessary to provide other voices in their publications. They can’t be bothered to ensure that their publications promote a real world view of diversity.
Words outlive people, institutions, civilizations. Words spur images, associations, memories, inspirations and synapse pulsations. Words send off physical resonations of thought into the nethersphere. Words hurt, soothe, inspire, demean, demand, incite, pacify, teach, romance, pervert, unite, divide. Words be powerful.—Inga Muscio
I have written previously about the disparaging language that is used to describe the urban fantasy and romance genres. The words used to describe urban fantasy often resides in the column of “it’s a woman’s genre.” Those words alone hold weight. It immediately discourages and erases men who write urban fantasy while at the same time demeaning them. I’ve heard other commentary on urban fantasy as being “easy to write.” Again, the language here removes the labor that goes into writing urban fantasy and, again, erases the blood, sweat, and tears urban fantasy authors put into their stories.
Thus far I’ve only discussed how words negatively impact other writers. There are ways that words can impact authors in a positive way. One way is to post reviews. Most of the authors I know love getting feedback from readers via reviews. These words about their works, have a way of encouraging authors—even if the review is negative. Of course, the language used in the review is important, but the act of posting your words about their work is often appreciated by authors.
Another way to use words to positively impact writers is to promote what you love. Social media isn’t going away, any time soon. So why not use your words for good? Climb on your platform and used words to promote the titles you love, the quotes from books you enjoy and encourage others to read—and write words. Perhaps in time, we can used our words to impact the numbers of those who buy books and those who read books. For it is books that help us empathize with others because we get to experience others’ lifetimes, others’ journeys, and others’ emotions.
Instead of demeaning genres and fandoms, it would be great if we changed our language or at the minimum think about the impact our words have on others. In closing, I’m challenging you to go forth and use your language powers for good. Lift up. Praise. Speak up. Support. Join the chorus of other voices using words to power over the negativity and ignorance plaguing us.
Oh, and if you feel up to it, give my first urban fantasy novel, Reaping By Numbers, some love.
I leave you with the classic master of words, William Shakespeare. “Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart.”