Blog Post #1

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Click For Something Random

ran^.dom adjective made, done, etc., without method or conscious choice (random selection).

How many times a day do you hear this word? How many times a day to you use this word? I am willing to bet a pretty penny that the people around you are abusing this word like a stunt driver in a Michael Bay film. I sincerely hope you, an obvious wordsmith, are more careful in your use of the “r” word.

If not, please read on and let’s see if we can’t change your mind on this issue. Let’s start with a question: can humans ever truly do anything in random fashion? Personally, I think humans are inextricably sentient beings and so strong is this sentience that we are unable to turn it off, even for a second, and make a decision without getting the stamp of approval from our brains.

How about another question: is “random” a strong descriptive word, what does it add to your story or scene? Consider the following examples:

“I mistrust all frank and simple people, especially when their stories hold together, and I always had a random suspicion that perhaps Robert Cohn had never been middleweight boxing champion…” The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway.

In this example I added the word “random” where Hemingway had not put it and I think the excerpt is much weaker for it. Hemingway was building a nonchalant, almost existential, paranoia but by adding the “r” word it has become the careless, colloquial opinion of an average Joe-paranoia.

Look over your own work and see where you have used the word “random” and see if you can make a strong case for keeping it, if you can, I’d like to see it. For now, however, I say it’s one word we could all do without for a decade or two.