When you're writing, you're conjuring. It's a ritual, and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you're inviting into the room.
Tom WaitsRead
I’ve always been a word guy, I like weird words and I like American slang and all that and words that are no longer being used… I like to drag them out of the box and wave them around… this is an interesting one, it’s amazing how in addition to punctuation just a little pause in the wrong place can just completely transform the meaning of something.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Words carry significant meaning, and their placement can alter communication dramatically.
This quote by Tom Waits emphasizes the power of language and the subtleties of communication. He expresses his fascination with words, particularly lesser-known ones and American slang, highlighting that even a slight pause or change in punctuation can completely change the meaning of a sentence. This reflects a broader truth about the importance of word choice and clarity in conveying ideas.
Themes
WordsCommunicationMeaningLanguageSlangPunctuation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a writing workshop to stress the importance of word choice.
More from Tom Waits
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I knelt at the altar of Ray Charles for years. I worked at a restaurant, and that's all there was on the jukebox.
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Don't plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me - choke those little bad days. Choke 'em down to nothing.
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My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane.
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Now its raining its pouring the old man is snoring now I lay me down to sleep I hear the sirens in the street all my dreams are made of chrome I have no way to get back home I’d rather die before I wake like Marilyn Monroe and throw my dreams out in the street and the rain make ‘em grow
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