Know Jack #469 Anxious to Tell You

A good thing about being a writer and retired is that I rarely deal with deadlines. I don’t like deadlines. All the flip-flopping back and forth between being eager and anxious takes an emotional toll. I suppose if I could refrain from mentally differentiating between the two it would be easier on me.

Though I don’t officially belong to the Grammar Police, I do some volunteer work for them from time to time. Modern usage has, in a way, made the two interchangeable. They are not. That’s why question when I hear someone say, “I’m anxious to ____” and the statement is at odds with their mood and facial affect.

Strangely enough, I don’t blame this state of affairs on my English teachers and their grammar lessons. The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of my nursing instructors. They taught me that anxiety is a mild form of fear. It is usually caused by doubt about the outcome of a situation. When a deadline looms, I can feel anxious that I will fail to meet it.

On the other hand, when I’m in the zone writing and sailing through pages, I am eager to be finished. I’m excited with the anticipation of success. It’s all subjective, a matter of how I feel at any given moment. It’s kind of a roller coaster ride—exciting but a little frightening too.

The characters that I write do most of the storytelling. I’m more a stenographer than anything else. So, it’s important I understand which emotion they are expressing when they have fallen into a pit versus awaiting the arrival of their sweetheart. It prevents confusing the reader too.

Solomon was a gifted writer as well as a wise man. According to him, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver”. Words are the writer’s tools. It is important to choose the right word for the right job.