Finding the Right Word
Struggling to Find the Right Words in Your Writing?
Finding the Right Word – Taking the extra time to construct your sentences with just the right words is worth the effort. Using the right word, you can build tension, create wonder in the reader, and energize what might otherwise be a boring scene. It just takes time, patience, and sweat.
Words Matter – The fact is, they matter a bunch. Or a lot. Or a great deal. If our goal is to build a strong, solid house, we wouldn’t cut corners by building it with bricks that were almost-strong. Or lumber that was nearly-good quality.
Since words are the writer’s medium, the building materials they use to construct a good story or a piece of writing, choosing the right words means, The difference between the lighting-bug and the lightning, as Mark Twain once said.
Developing Good Habits – It all starts with good habits like the following:
- Read much and read often. When you come across a word you’re not familiar with, write it down and look it up.
- Learn how to pronounce it, and spell it correctly.
- Read and study your dictionary. Try to learn a few new words every day if possible.
- Read and study your thesaurus, you’ll find all kinds of fun words.
- Listen to people around you as they speak, learn their language.
- Read passages you’ve written out loud. Listen to the sounds of the words – their rhythm, and how they flow.
Focus on the Specific and Concrete – Avoid the General and the Abstract
Be Precise
Compare the following:
- The hot sun affected Grandma’s plants.
with… - The blistering summer sun withered Grandma’s tomatoes, and left her cucumbers brown and lifeless in the
red dust.
Characters especially benefit from the particular as opposed to the general or abstract.
Compare the following:
- The little old lady walked outside and sat in her chair.
with – - Leaning on her walker, the woman shuffled out to her porch and slowly lowered herself – bones cracking – into the ancient wicker chair.
Use Verbs That Fit the Character – In the above sentence, for example, if you’re writing about an elderly person, you wouldn’t say that person strutted, sashayed, or sauntered across the porch. This is where your thesaurus comes in handy. Try to find a verb that fits your character’s personality.
Avoid Vagueness – Vividly Describe people, places, and things.
Frequency: Avoid using the same word more than once or twice in the same sentence. Obviously, words like the, and or a, tend to pop up more often, and are therefore mostly exempt from this rule.
But if you find words like isostatic or octozoodle more than once in the same sentence, you might have a problem. Word frequency within a manuscript can also pose a problem if the word is uncommon or seldom used in everyday speech.
Sometimes a writer can get attached to a word and like the way it sounds. However, such repetition can become annoying to the picky reader, and should therefore be avoided if possible.
Use All Five Senses – one way to vividly describe your scenes is to employ words evoking each of the five senses in order to stir feelings and emotions you might not reach otherwise with the usual two senses – hearing and sight – most writers limit themselves to.
Use Strong Action Verbs Over Weak and General Nouns – verbs are the muscle of your sentences. So use them accordingly.
Compare the following:
- Stephen and his brother had a bad fight.
with… - Stephen and his brother fought like raging beasts.
Or:
- Chris had an explosion of temper at his boss.
with… - Chris exploded with rage at his boss.
By turning the noun into its action verb, you better depict the action.
Avoid Fancy Words – Whatever you do, avoid fancy, high-falutin, ivy-leaguey words that make you sound pompous.
If you must employ them, endeavor to perpetually be cognizant of their potential for over utilization.
or…
If you have to use them, always be aware of their potential for overuse.
Avoid Bureaucratic Words and Overly Formal Hogwash – Would a husband say to his wife, In accordance with my work schedule, perhaps it would be feasible to collaborate on the ingestion of food this evening?
Of course not. He’d say, If I can get off work early, you wanna get some grub tonight?
Too many beginning writers feel a burning need to impress not only with big fancy words like pursuant, but with stilted language designed to demonstrate learning and sophistication. Even business writing doesn’t have to be formal if done correctly. Unless you’re writing a legal brief, stick to plain old everyday words.
General Rule – If a plain vanilla word will do, then by all means, use it. Just do your best to find the best word to fit each sentence.
Highly Recommend: Writer’s Helping Writers Series
Happy Writing!
