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Word Choice Matters

Shakespeare wrote words words words for Hamlet to speak, and The Bard selected the ones he used with care. When one didn't exist to convey what he wanted, he created one. You can thank him for: discontent, arouse, obscene, remorseless, moonbeam, metamorphize, lackluster, flawed, amazement, circumstantial, and over 1600 other now-common words including blanket and advertising!

Regional words like pop or soda lend the ring of authenticity to a book and you can set your moment in time with a word from the era. Groovy. Genres have tones that readers expect and a big part of that tone is the words you use to bring the story forth. Hardboiled crime or gangster stories rough you up with their tough words and slang. And in the romance genre, romance can veer into erotica or porn if graphic words are used.

When writing my first romantic scene I struggled. Oh! The names for parts go from silly to cute to threatening and where the noses go and how they get out of their clothes... I was madly blushing my way through creating the scene and when I turned it in to my editor she sent back a terse, "No need for this specificity. Take us up to the cliff and let us jump off into our imaginations. Also, some readers may not like that thumb trick."

Whew! What a relief! I dialed back the specifics and voila! Now readers tell me of their own take on what happened before I picked back up with, "The next morning..."

Words are like crayons and you don't need to be confined to the box of 10. Go ahead and use the big box. Instead of writing red, you can write crimson, cerise, scarlet, razzmatazz jam, brick red. Mixing up how you use words can keep your writing fresh. Most people think of an object being hurled, but why not a look? Example: The spoiled tyke hurled such a look at me I had to steady myself. 

If you feel limited in your vocabulary, keep a Thesaurus open while you write. And if all else fails, invent one a la chortle one of my favorites by Lewis Caroll.

-- Anna Erikssön Bendewald 






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