Excerpt from my website blog: "Brief Blogs" by Carol Devine at www.authorcaroldevine.com

Today I want to talk about transcendent writing. You heard me. It is what separates Vi Keeland and me, Stephen King and you, Jon Stewart and the rest of the world from each other: the brain each of us humans is blessed with.

Brains are unique. Each human attached to each brain has a voice, a writer's voice. It's the way you express yourself, the frame in which ideas are presented, the word choices made to transfer images from your mind into a reader's mind.

To create those images, the choices you make are critical. A character walks. Nope, actually he trudges. Or hurries. Hops then skips. Slogs and slows. Leaps in excitement. Yes, it's all about emotional content. Change one word and zap… imagery jumps and sticks in the readers' mind.

That's what separates a writer from a non-writer. Writers pay attention to the power inherent in every word. Writers know which words are more powerful than others. And writers love to wield that power.

You want an example?

Walk: amble, stride, hustle, sidle, jog, zip, stumble, bustle, hop to it, side-step, circle, jangle, dance, slump, did a jig, corner, stagger…

Write beyond synonyms. Write to find a voice that speaks to the human soul.