Grandpa and Violet do some web surfing.

Let’s be clear. I am a writer. And I like to sell stuff. Essays, articles, stories. A novel would be nice, though I have not experienced that one yet. Being paid for my work makes me feel validated. Affirmed. Legitimate. No matter how many times my husband tells me I’m a great writer (which he does) I’m never as convinced as when I hold an actual check in my hand.

However, some of my words are meant to be given away.

When I get an idea, concept, illustration, or story (which mostly happens in the shower) I wonder where it belongs. Is it an essay for the magazine I’m trying to break into? A scene for the novel I’m working on? An article for a market I haven’t even discovered yet?

Or, does it belong to one of the places where I give my words away? This blog for instance. I’m so grateful to the writers, editors, and agents who give their words away on professional blogs every week. They give us a tremendous education for free. I’m sure I don’t have that much wisdom to impart. But I try to do my part.

I also give away my words in a neighborhood newspaper column and our Sunday church bulletin. Those are tremendously fulfilling, especially because of the immediate feedback I get. When someone stops me at the local steakhouse and tells me how much they enjoy reading about our Heartland Happenings, it is better than a paycheck.

I think we all have words to give away. They might be in a conversation with a three-year old or in a comment on a student’s paper. Maybe it is the sentence you toss at your husband when you leave for work or something you consider small talk at the coffee counter. Somewhere during the day, the words you give away could make all the difference for someone else.

Words are powerful. And we never know for sure which ones really are worth gold.