The website of author Jaz Primo

Time has flown. It was a week ago today that I attended the 45^th Annual Oklahoma Writer’s Federation (OWFI) Conference in Norman, Oklahoma. The conference was excellent, and I attended a number of helpful sessions related to creative writing and the publishing industry. Best of all, I attended a banquet where author Patrick Rothfuss spoke. He’s the author of the popular fantasy series, The Kingkiller Chronicle. Patrick has an excellent sense of humor; ironic and slightly twisted, which I appreciate. Most surprising was that he’d written the story for a children’s book titled The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed, which he shared with us. It was endearing and compelling, and I highly recommend it.

Having completed the manuscript for my fourth Sunset Vampire novel, Wicked Sunset (cover reveal coming soon!), I’m setting creative writing aside for a short time to attack my neglected TBR list. I’ve started with the YA paranormal romance Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

The characters have good chemistry and the story is entertaining, and I recommend it much more than the film. But then, that’s often the case with film adaptations of books, don’t you agree?

So many novels in my TBR list…so little time. However, it’s wonderful to have so many titles to choose from, isn’t it?

What’s on your spring and summer reading list?

While making breakfast this morning, I listened to a news broadcast, and something that was said caused me to pause. The usage of a single word made me wince: vigilant.

I thoughtfully considered the use of the word; a good exercise for a writer, at least from time to time. According to the etymologists at Merriam-Webster.com, vigilant means “alertly watchful especially to avoid danger.”

It’s not a negative word, or even a “bad word” necessarily; it’s really all about context and proper use. In this case, it was used to encourage homeowners to notice the improper use of their yard’s sprinkler systems, such as during rainstorms or freezing temperatures.

I shook my head over the selection of that word. In truth, it seemed quite silly to me.

If we’re all supposed to be vigilant about sprinkler systems, then I believe it should be done properly. There should be someone taking turns “standing vigil” in the neighborhood watching out for the evil plague of sprinkler system misuse. After all, we wouldn’t want to be caught off-guard by nefarious sprinklers hijacking our welfare by spraying water hither and fro like some fire-breathing dragon, would we? Just think of the potential resulting chaos.

Instead, vigilant is something you should be when watching for the hordes of undead following the zombie apocalypse.

Have you ever noticed that once a particular word becomes politicized, it becomes a part of our daily narrative and use?

The use of the word vigilant came to prominence following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that are part of our current cultural memory. The Bush Administration selected that word as its trademark call to action to mobilize the United States citizenry around the idea of keeping watch for potential terrorist activities. Since then, the word has ascended to Olympian levels of usage, only to become so much a part of the daily political and governmental narrative that most people have tuned it out. Does your pulse quicken and your sense of awareness sharpen each time you hear the term, or do you relegate it to the same benign prominence that you would if someone said, “take care” or “have a nice day”?

Take a moment to listen to commonly used terms used in conversations around you, and see if you notice unusually popular words being used out of context. It can be quite amusing…or annoying, depending on your emotional response.

If it pleases you, be aware of word usage; but please, don’t be vigilant about it. That is, unless you’re prepared to actually stand vigil.

Oh, and don’t just have a nice day…have a wonderful day. As a matter of fact, it already is because you’re part of it. :-)