From CafeWriting.com:
November: Option Five: Seven Things
In improvisation, one of our exercises is a game called “Seven Things,” in which we go around in a circle giving each other the challenge, “Give me seven things that [whatever]” We are not going to go around in a circle, here, but if you’re drawn to lists, this prompt is for you.
Give me seven of your favorite words. You don’t have to explain them, but it’s more fun for readers if you do.
- Vivacious – People who don’t know me really well sometimes think I’m bubbly. “Bubbly” implies “dingbat” to me, and I’m not a dingbat. I will claim vivacity, instead. It’s more sophisticated than perky, and more grounded than frothy, but still very much a word that goes with pink hair.
- Brilliant – I like saying this word. I like the way you can separate the i/a dipthong just a little and make it sound more grown up than when you let the last syllable be “yant”. I like the way it describes luminescence as well as intelligence. I’m not brilliant, but sometimes I can fake it well.
- Y’all – I picked up this word on the web, but never used it outside of text until moving to Texas. Most of the Texans I know aren’t from here either, but we’ve all adopted this word into our personal lexicons. Why? It’s sweet. It’s efficient. It’s cozy. And just enough southern to add regional flavor without coming off as a hick.
- Tintinnabulation – Anyone who loves Poe understands the appeal (no pun intended) of this word. In truth, I love onomatopoeic words in general, but this one is my favorite.
- Superfluous – I hear this word and I’m hanging out with my friends Devon, Michael and Karla in junior high, and we’re having fun mimicking our algebra teacher / gym coach (well, for the girls) Seena Rhine. She used this word a lot. If someone asked what it meant, she’d say, “look it up,” then tell them how to spell it. She was a truly kind person, but never coddled us. It’s funny, but I haven’t thought of her in years.
- Imagine – Fewer words have more power, more possibility, more danger, all wrapped up in their letters. If we can imagine it, we can achieve it, improve it, acquire it, appreciate it, and go to bed with satisfied smiles on our faces.
- Story – “Tell me a story.” “What’s the story, morning glory?” “That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.” “Get the story straight.” We live, breathe, act, trade parts of ourselves, share our traditions, hopes, dreams, fears, loves and losses, all through the medium of Story. We are a people of Story. Madeleine L’Engle wrote that we have a God of Story. Whether we are losing ourselves in fiction, or living vicariously through the accounts of real adventures, we are experiencing story, and creating our own stories. How can I NOT love this word?