I grew up in the animated, colorful neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York where slang changes your perspective on everything. It's no secret some of the craziest slanguage originated here. What is this phenomenon called slang and what is its purpose? Is it an amplifier for a phrase we wouldn’t otherwise notice like, Fugghettabout it, or a mangling of a perfectly understandable language? Who knows, but it sure is motivating!

Back in college, I had professor, err, what’s his name, who on the first day of class discussed what was required for the semester. As is usual practice for most professors on the first day of lecture, he explained why there wasn’t any reason we couldn’t achieve a passing grade in his course. He said “You gotta have one special thing”. Then turned to the blackboard and wrote a single word in enormous, white, chalky letters, double underlined it, then nailed it with an explanation point. The word was “WANNA”. What the professor was saying, basically, was that if we had made the decision to pass the class, then we would. We only needed to want to pass in order to make the grade. It was very motivating even if it wasn’t proper English.

While I barely remember the subject matter in that course or, my professor’s name, his message had a lingering effect. I applied that single, motivating, beautiful, slang phrase to everything I thought I couldn’t do, particularly in times when I doubted myself and my own abilities. The phrase, You Gotta Have Wanna, was a proverbial push for me to get up and do something. Being a writer of children’s fiction, I ran with it. I found a voice and an audience for this phrase and discovered that all sorts could benefit from it, especially:

• Children considering a weight loss/behavioral program;
• Teens and Families struggling with eating disorders;
• Children with degenerative or genetic diseases/the healing process/finding a cure;
• The physically impaired to strive through their challenges;
• Anyone, anywhere who dreams, has hope of a change and decides to make it happen!

Heck, even a politician could use the phrase in his campaign! The possibilities are endless!

When it comes to writing, here are no boundaries as to where we can get our motivation. The ability to make sense out of nonsense is where real creativity comes in on both the part of the writer and reader. Dr Seuss did it by reversing sentences such as "I am Sam" to "Sam I am", and still, it makes perfect sense to us. Slang phrases can have the same effect by being expressed in an or exaggerated, not so proper, way which peaks and keeps our interest. My suggestion: take what's creative and catchy and use it to hook your readers. You might just be on to something wonderful!

Nancy S. Mure
http://www.nancysmure.com