words

words are A Good Thing in my book (pun intended). You can manipulate language to make it say black is white and vice versa, which can be handy, and manipulating words is something i do well (on a good day anyway, on a bad day you wouldn't ever dream i make my living from such a thing).

unfortunately, on some subjects, i'm too often lost for words unless i can write it all down. actually talking is just too complicated sometimes, my brain doesn't always process everything - or indeed notice everything being said. there's an elephant in the room at the minute and talking about it is proving close to impossible - not helped by the fact i'm certain if it gets talked about it'll go away, and i'm not sure i want it to go away even though i know i should.

in the past i've tried a little writing and the one person above all others who inspires me is the author of this little manuscript i just got in the mail yesterday and opened this morning. lettered by todd klein, it's titled 'before you read this' and is a list of instructions for when one is faced with a fairytale or other supernatural story going on around you. of course, you can't read the instructions before you read it, which is a very fairytale thing in itself (though you could read 'instructions', a poem by the same author, which might help you find the path).

it's by the very (VERY) wonderous neil gaiman, and if you've read nothing of his then shame on you. sandman comics, novels, children's books, short stories and a collaboration with terry pratchett called 'good omens' (in which the devil only has the best tunes if he remembers to take the cassettes out of the car, otherwise they morph into 'best of queen' collections) - take your pick, they're all great. all writers love words i suppose, but not all writers love words the way neil gaiman does; his style is effortless and flowing, which means he was probably a swan in a previous life, gliding serenely along but paddling madly under the water. thanks for writing, neil.

the illustration behind it is a drawing of todd's of dream (lord morpheus, from 'sandman') in his library. follow the instruction: read.