Learning new words has never been a top priority for me. As a writer, that is a shameful admission. Dictionaries and a thesaurus or two help me in my attempt to find the right word to use in my manuscripts. Nevertheless, I find myself more inclined to choose lesser-used words I already know when replacing overused words.
Let it never be said that I've bombasted my audience with my grandiloquence.
Sounds dangerous.
Sometimes dictionary entries will use a different form of the same word or a different "big word" to explain the meaning. I'm sure you've all seen incomprehesible definitions. Many times, the definition isn't helpful: penitential means "of or relating to penitence or penance".
When I find a word that fits my sentence on a broad level, it isn't right because of the atmosphere it creates. For example: words that define colors. Yellow could be anything.
The bright yellow of a flower: the flower could be described better to let in the character's personality as he/she views the flower.
The glaring yellow of the sun: the sun isn't really yellow, is it?
The pale yellow of a shirt: maybe Ecru could be a shirt color?
The grisly yellow of a villain's teeth: the villain -ick- maybe just needs some dental hygiene tips.
The happy, golden yellow of the heroine's hair: the heroine's hair color tells me she's in the calm before the storm. I can't see her hair being described that way during an argument or while she's hanging from a cliff.
"The heroine's happy, golden yellow hair danced gaily in the wind as the heroine walked the plank and jumped to her impending death in the shark-infested waters." See? It just doesn't fit.
Next week, I'll post the reason I use several dictionaries.
2 comments:
I love words, and I love learning new ones, but at the same time, writers that use a bunch of new-to-me words just make me mad--I think because they make me feel dumb. :) Ever read "The Corrections"? I had a notebook going where I wrote down all the words I didn't know, and after a while it just seemed like he was showing off. I didn't finish reading it. :)
Hi Alison,
Thanks for stopping by. I haven't read "The Corrections" and probably won't if doesn't let me stay in the story.
Pet Peeve of the Day: The words are supposed to tell the story, not just make me use a dictionary. =D
I saw your interview on Novel Journey. Very Cool!
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