Dear friend,
Welcome to 'THE WORD', a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the very essence of a writer's toolkit: words.
Today's word is...
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'Azure'
1. (archaic): lapis lazuli
2a: the blue colour of the clear sky
2b: the heraldic colour blue
3: the unclouded sky
*also (noun): a small butterfly which is typically blue or purplish
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I had chosen a different word for today, a word I'd never heard before (not that I was especially familiar with last fortnight's 'tranklements', but the word I had in mind was really unusual).
Then yesterday I shared a poem I wrote while on my Arvon retreat, and I realised 'azure' had to be today's word.
I called the poem 'The Etymology of Azure' because it is exactly that - a poem written from words that appear in the etymology of the word azure.
It was a clever exercise in 'finding' new words and phrases that otherwise would never have made an appearance in my poetry.
I particularly liked the phrase "a complex silicate with spangles of pyrites".
Read the blog post for the other words and phrases that filtered through my consciousness as I constructed my 'etymological poem'.
Now: what do you think about the appearance of another butterfly?
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I say 'another butterfly' because the word 'alpine' I featured a few issues ago also defines a species of butterfly. What's with all the butterflies in my words?
And I'm veering a little off-point here, but it reminds me of this alphabet made up of the markings on butterfly wings - so beautiful.
Anyway: what does the word 'azure' connote for you?
It has me swimming in an infinity of blue, somewhere hot and clean and quiet. It's an escape really, the sky cloudless, (it seems ironic then for Microsoft to have named their cloud services 'azure'...)
But what I can't escape is the 'archaic' description: lapis lazuli.
Lapis lazuli is a semi-precious stone used mostly in jewellery and decorative items, described itself as 'a rich azure blue'.
So now I'm in Cape Town, the place where my Mother was born, transported across time through the treasures in my Nana's jewellery box. It is indeed cloudless and azure; the sand white and the sea beckoning. I can almost feel the waves, taste the salt, hear the echoes under the surface of the water.
Maybe it's the same for you? Or maybe you're somewhere else entirely? Go with it, feel it. Listen to your internal voice - that's your muse right there.
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Inspiration:
I love listening to The Creative Penn podcast, and I found this article by Joanna Penn on finding and capturing writing ideas very helpful - she shares so much great content on her site in addition to the podcast.
Opportunities:
There's still a few days left to enter the Scottish Book Trust's '50 word competition' for October. A visual prompt provides your inspiration...I've entered this before and find it's another fun way to spark ideas.
And er, anyone doing NaNoWriMo?
I'm changing my mind daily, but loving the advice and support of Rachael with her Prep-tober campaign on Twitter and her website.
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Thanks for reading. Remember to spread 'THE WORD' if you enjoyed this newsletter.
Yours (from the rich expanse of a cloudless...desk)
Rebecca
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