Every word that you use contributes meaning to what you are communicating. And depending on where your emphasis is, the focal point of your message might change.
Let’s take a quick example.
I am a mother of two boys.
What does this sentence tell you? It informs you that I am a parent. And that I have two sons.
Now, it would be a little different if I were to italicise/bold/capitalise certain words in this sentence. Let’s take a look.
I am a MOTHER of two boys.
So you might expect here that whatever I go on to talk about next would be about my journey as a mum.
How about if I were to focus on a different word in this sentence instead?
I am a mother of two BOYS.
How does this change your expectations of what will come next in my story?
It’s likely you would expect me to discuss my experience raising two sons, and how it has impacted my life.
Here’s one more…
I am a mother of TWO boys.
How does this strike you now?
The emphasis here is on “two”. What might be the possible significance of this word?
Perhaps the number is important here because having two children is not the norm in society. Thus, the fact that I only have two children might be an issue I might struggle with.
Conversely, having two children might actually be a typical family scenario and more or less meeting expectations of those in my community. How does this then impact my life? Do I feel too ordinary and that I am merely colouring within the lines of what others expect of me in life? Maybe that might be the focus of my story.
I’m not really sure why I decided to bring this up in a post. But hopefully it benefits you in some way, my dear Reader.
When you read other stuff today and in the future, this is something you can ponder. What is the emphasis in the writing? If it is being spoken aloud, this is even easier to detect based on the tone and delivery of the speech. But if it is in writing, how might you discern where the emphasis is?
And if you so happen to be working on writing something today, this is also something you can think about. Which words or phrases are you focussing on? If you were to apply italics/bold/capitals to your text, where you use it? And how might this change the way you string together your story?
Just some thoughts I’d like to leave with you. I do so love words. And the prose we can craft with them.
Be back later with other random topics. Heh.
Meanwhile, good morning to you, if you live in this part of the world (read: Southeast Asia).