Can’t do a THING with it!

“Almost all things can have a second life and that is a good thing.”

What, exactly, is a “thing?” It’s a noun. It’s a pronoun. It’s a word that can be used as a stand-in for any actor on the writing stage:

A thing is a 1959 cherry sunburst Les Paul guitar, the same one owned by rocker Billy Gibbons.

A thing is a black `37 Ford coupe with glas-pacs and wide tires.

A thing is an oceanfront condo – complete with an oversized deck and two Adirondack chairs – in Manzanita.

If I were to tell you my husband owns a “thing,” it could be any one of those three items I just described. But where’s the detail – that mental image that tells you what I’m talking about – if I just label my husband’s wish-list as a “thing?”

Think about it: The words you are reading right now are things. I wrote this e-note on a thing. I used ten things to press down on the keyboard. I checked my spelling, my grammar, my tone, with my two things, and this whole idea of mine is powered by the one thing that sits on top of my neck (which is also a thing.)

So what does the writer mean when he says: “Almost all things can have a second life and that is a good thing.”

I have no idea.

More to the point: When you write, your goal is to capture your reader’s attention, and then hang onto it. If you use meaningless words like “thing” you lose:

Attention: The reader doesn’t understand what you mean.

Credibility: Your reader doesn’t think you know what you are talking about.

Sales: If you can’t clearly describe your product, or how your service can help solve a problem, then how (or why) should anyone bother to buy it?

My advice: Don’t use the word thing, ever. Even if you are writing a draft and you get stuck on a word, don’t put a thing in its place. You might forget to change it. Instead, use XXXX or ZZZZ or !!!! – something that cues you in to the fact that you need a powerful, descriptive, REAL word.