Introduction to Wordwork|play

Much has changed on Wordwork|play since I first started it.  It began as an excuse to get me writing regularly.  I needed some kind of creative outlet and a way to take tentative steps into the writing world.  And I wanted to document my steps and missteps into the writing world, a task probably better done from a remove, after more time has elapsed and hindsight has crystallized somewhat.

At first it was a wide-open platform for my writing.  I wrote on all kinds of topics, some quite personal, whimsical and informal, others more structured, serious and formal.  I discovered and then began contributing to Blogcritics Magazine.  I wrote a few articles on topics ranging from BLGTQ issues, to First Nations issues, to responsible consumerism.  I also wrote a number of book reviews and found that I loved, especially, doing those. 

I realized soon that my focus was much too broad.  My attention and efforts went in all directions and my energy consequently stretched rather thin. I lacked focus.  So, realizing how much I loved literature, and how much I enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm for literature, whether in general posts about reading, writing, or about a specific book, or more specifically in the form of formal book reviews, I knew I had found my focus.

Wordwork|play is now officially a literary blog.  That is its focus.  That is its mission.  It exists to share the wonderful world of literature with my readers.  I will review books for now, with occasional reflections on reading and writing, and eventually begin reviewing other forms of literature as well, such as theatre and film.  At some point I will also begin interviewing authors to shed more light both on their writing and the writing life.

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For contact information--general questions or comments, advertising on this site, sending review materials or arranging interviews, or writing-related job offers--please go to About the Author(s).

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(Original Post to Wordwork|play, then called Wordworking)

I am a logophile, a lover of words. It is not so much a love of the physical properties or constituent parts of words, nor of specific words, but rather a love of the function of words, of how they work and of what they are capable. I like the way words sound, the way they bubble out of the throat, trip over the tongue, glide around in the mouth and ultimately escape over teeth and lips. But I especially love how these little vessels of sound can be used by the crafty.

I love the inherent openness of words. I love how malleable they are, how even those intended to be gentle and soothing can become grating and scorching, or vice versa. I love how words can be woven together by a skillful writer or orator to move people to laughter or to tears, to call up anger, hatred, fear, and love. And I love how words, whether heard or read, can increase our knowledge or lead us through a multitude of lives, and how sometimes, in the process, we can grow into better, more understanding, more tolerant human beings.

Of course words are used for many things more mundane--memos, reports, technical manuals, advertisements, etc. And, let's not forget, they can be used to sell. And they themselves can be sold. Am I getting nearer the purpose of this blog? I hope--let's out with it--to use this blog as both an excuse and outlet for my writing, and secondly, to generate some interest in my writing. Translation: I hope to combine my love of words and writing with my need of money. Translation: please hire me for freelance writing and/or invite me to publish some of my material.

There, I've come down so far from the loftiness of the first couple of paragraphs. I hope I haven't let you down. I truly do love words, but I also have need of money. So to venture, a bit timidly perhaps, into the world of freelance writing, I will share with you my various efforts, struggles and successes along the way.