Writing Kitchens [1]: Four Favourite Words

The Writing Kitchens is an original blog feature on The Devil Orders Takeout that shows the behind-the-scenes of my writing and occasionally a line or two from my current project.

All words are amazing, but some words are more amazing than others.

Let's admit it, we all have favourite words, and others not so much. Words like "put" lack a certain flair, while "swirl" sounds like the action itself and just rolls off your tongue.

So today, I'm sharing some of my guilty pleasure and a line from Winner Takes All featuring each of these words!

 Ghosts being dead, they're not really able to scream. Plus, Ylen sees ghosts in the wind, so whispering is too apt a word to pass over. Used 27 times.

Clinging to history is a key theme in Winner Takes All. Ylen's name is derived from 依戀, a Chinese word meaning more or less to linger. Used 11 times.

You know me, I can't have a novel without war. Used 16 times.

By now you should be able to guess the last one:

It's just easier to talk about emotions with visceral images of a beating heart. Used 42 (!!!) times.

Hope you enjoyed the first Writing Kitchens! Lesson to be learned: thesauri are useful. Very useful.

What are your favourite words and why?

Twitter-sized takeout:

• What are your favourite words? @AlyssaC_HK shares 4 of hers. (Click to Tweet)
• What word did @AlyssaC_HK use 42 times in her novel? Find out now! (Click to Tweet)

For more exclusive peeks into my writing, let me write monthly letters to you!