Words, Words, WORDS!

Aside from being a memorable line from Hamlet or the name of a play about monkeys by David Ives, this blog title refers to those little things that make writing what it is: words.

Think about it, the words in a book, play or movie, can really influence how you feel about the story. They either drag you in, or make you wonder if what you are reading was written by a kindergartener. The correct combination of words can make you laugh, cry, bang your head against the wall, whatever the author wants, as long as they are used correctly. Well, I guess the wrong combination of words can make you laugh, but that doesn’t work very well if the response the author wanted was to pull at your heartstrings a bit.

The biggest problem that I personally have with words is repetition. I tend to use the same words over and over again because my vocabulary is so incredibly limited that I cannot think of any word to replace the “smiled” that I write almost every other post. Sometimes I actually have to go back and rewrite what I wrote (whether in roleplays or regular old stories) so that I can think of a better way to say what I want to say without using the exact same word. I have an especially hard time when it comes to descriptive words, like the “smiled” example that I used earlier.

So, how do I counteract this problem? I use one of my favorite websites: thesaurus.com. Oh I don’t think I can quite describe how much I love a good old thesaurus. I admire it, I cherish it, I prize it, I am crazy about it. All in all I guess you could say that I fancy it. See? Look at that! All those words (and many more I assure you) can be used to say the word “love”.  I don’t need to say “love” over and over because there are so many more words I could use to describe it!

Not only can you use different words to replace an overused word, but you can also use them to describe different levels of the feeling you wish to express. Let’s look at “love” again. Let’s say that you want to describe how your character “loves” ice cream. Thesarus.com says that “worship”  can mean love. So how about we stick in that they worship their ice cream? Because that sounds really dumb or really weird and unless they are being sarcastic, are some freaky ice cream cult member or have a really, really unhealthy obsession with the stuff, it doesn’t make much sense. But what if instead of ice cream, you were trying to say how much your character cared for a really beautiful and wonderful woman that they’re a little shy to approach because she’s just so fabulous? Suddenly “worship” seems to fit a lot better doesn’t it? And doesn’t it communicate the meaning better than a simple boring “love” would have done? Even if you said, “He loved her very much” it doesn’t feel nearly as strong as “He worshiped her” does it?

This brings up a point on the word “very”. Please don’t overuse this word! When there are so many words out there that you could use to describe how happy your character is, don’t be dull enough to say that they were “very happy”. How about “elated” or “jubilant” or “blissful”? As one of my favorite people from a favorite movie says….  

Now, someone with more of a love of words could probably continue to go on and on about them for a few more pages. They could tell you of the many uses of words,  how amazing they are, how to use them properly and whatnot. Though I love words, I have neither the patience nor knowledge to go on for too much longer about words, so I’ll just leave you with the one thought and an experiment to try. 
The English language is a beautiful one, and with the right words you really add power to your writing. Don’t get lazy with your writing! And don’t be afraid to experiment with or learn some new words every now and again. You may find that you really enjoy it and maybe even go a little crazy like me and download the dictionary.com app so that you can learn new words every day! ;)

Lastly, I have a few experiments for you to try. First, try going through some of your writing sometime. Is there a word that you are constantly using? Try researching some words that you can use to replace it. The second experiment or exercise or whatever you want to call it actually goes pretty well after the first. Go to a blank document and choose a descriptive word. Any adjective or verb will do: happy, sad, run, climb, excite, etc. Take just one word and set a timer for, oh, say, one minute. In that minute, come up with as many synonyms as you can. If you want, try doing it for longer, three minutes, five minutes, no time limit, whatever you want. After you’re done, go and check out a thesaurus to see how many words there are. How many did you get? Did you find any more that you like? Doing stuff like this will sharpen your skills and expand your vocabulary. Plus, it’s fun. :) In the meantime, here’s a list of just a couple often used words and some possible replacements. Have fun!

www.easypacelearning.com

Until next time everyone, this is psychogiggles signing off!
ON TO ROLEPLAYING AWESOMENESS!