Tuesday, October 30, 2012

This I Think

Thoughts on Writing: Writing That Moves You


“Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offence and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.”  –Nicholas Sparks

            Love is a feeling that cannot be embodied in a sentence. It cannot be defined in a dictionary with one meaning. It cannot always been seen, but it will always be felt. Love is an emotion in your heart that has the strength to change your life in an instant. Every love is different. But every love has a story that can relate to the novels of Nicholas Sparks.

            My life has been very fulfilling and beautiful due to the family I have been blessed with. Love is the most common factor I am surrounded with in my life from my brother and parents. But, at a young age, my parents divorced. I will never resent them for this decision, for they are still the best of friends today. It wasn’t a messy divorce and aside from my parents living in different houses, it didn’t damage the family in any way. There was only one aspect their divorce did change in who I am. Their separation affected my character and morals in a positive way. Some people may argue experiencing a divorce would change your definition of love negatively. Yet I view love very different than most people my age do. From this experience, my definition of love aligns with Sparks. Love is forever. I understand my parents did not set out to get divorced 13 years down the road from their wedding day, but I do not believe they did everything in their power to preserve their marriage. This showed me to be patient and nurture your love. It also showed me to never settle until you find the love you want and deserve. Love is about embracing the other person’s flaws instead of pointing out their faults. It is about putting in the work and appreciating the outcome. It is giving, receiving and accepting. Love can be all the things I believe, Sparks believes and so much more.

            As a New York Times best selling author, Nicholas Sparks captures his audience within the first sentence of a novel. When I start one of his books, I can’t put it down. I find myself reading through the nights; captured in the lives of the characters and how relatable the stories can be to his audience. The main themes are love, loss, tragedy and faith, all of which most people can relate. Although the words Sparks writes is a beauty in itself, the construction of the sentences are just as important. Love is a noun and a verb. It is not something that can be patient, kind of delight in the truth. The word choice allows Sparks to give love personification as if it could feel. While love is between two people who feel these kinds of emotions, the word itself cannot. I believe this structure makes the quote extremely powerful because it gives raw meaning to the feeling of love. Another technique Sparks uses is anaphora: the repetition of a word at the beginning of a sentence. It keeps coming back to love. A strong technique in writing is using the same word over and over, which enhances the reader’s thoughts because it is always reemphasizing the meaning of love. Last, the words are also organized in a precise way, which makes the language beautiful. When I read the quote at the top of the page, I feel chills from the euphony Sparks uses in his writing. The words together form a beautiful phrase that is remembered by millions of his readers. If there was one person who could attempt to describe and define love, it will always be Nicholas Sparks.

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