This doesn't quite fit the various particular thread questions, but for those writers like me who struggle with precision in word choice, this truncated passage from THE PLAGUE by Camus struck me as very revealing (and I think you could easily substitute some of the screennames here in the Writing Forums for the characters in Camus' novel) ... Just beyond this passage, the narrator (the doctor) suggests an analogy to the language used in the media to attempt to express compassion and encouragement for this little plague-afflicted town: I think this suggests how hard we all work at something we know will inevitably fall short in some way of reaching its mark. And the fact that Camus uses this image of the compassionate volunteer who happens to be focused upon writing a story seems to me to reflect his own awareness of the struggle (however artistic, creative, or noble) to breach the boundaries of human limitations.
hm-mmm... as camus and his characters may have wondered, was that observation meant complimentarily, or disparagingly? ;-)
I thought it was pretty reflective of how (and maybe why), we try and, even with the best of intentions, sometimes fail to be helpful. I can easily relate to that, Destin.
