I like verbal people. The ones that speak in pictures. Their general talk paints vivid images as they speak. My cousin is from the south and speaks in pictures. "If dirt were dumb, he'd be a mile." "His mouth just overloaded his butt."
See the dirt? Man standing in the middle of a mile long dirt field? The mouth/butt thing...scary visual, but I'm not sure what it means.
I think this is more common in the south. Jersey girls don't speak in pictures, they speak in staccato bursts. "Do it." "Wassup?" "Yo, bitch."
What do you see? Ummm...nothing.
But I like when people speak in pictures better. Or maybe its because I don't hear it that often and, try as I might, I can't think quick enough to do it on the fly.
My cos also uses "bless his heart" a lot too. Its like a disclaimer. You can say anything and you're cool if you end it with "bless his heart".
Right now I'm listening to an audio book for my 40 min ride to hell...oops...I mean work (bless it's heart). Charlaine Harris, Dead as a Doornail. A Sookie Stackhouse vampire story. I'm not a big vamp reader overall but some of them grab me. I'm also reading Amanda Hocking's 4th book and one of the Lee Child, Reacher stories.
Anyway, Sookie Stackhouse has the verbal/picture/words down pat. I think I love the words more than the story. (Although it is an excellent book---just ask HBO)
Sometimes in writing it comes easier. On a good day the words flow and little sayings actually make it onto the page. But I think to give the picture words the right delivery you have to be specially trained or something.
Do you speak like this? Write?
1 comment:
I love writers like that too, who give great description. James Lee Burke comes to mind as a southerner.
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