In my Professional Writing class at university, on the very first day, my lecturer posed a question to us about how language had changed over the centuries and did we agree that the simpler dialogue that had developed was better.
First to answer (cause I suffer from know-it-all-itis), I said the change was horrible because I didn't want to lose the rich culture of literature from years gone by.
I should now add that Professional Writing looked at communication from a business perspective and was basically a PR subject.
Well, my lecture, who I adored because she was a columnist in the local paper, shot me down and said simpler was better. Supposedly the average person has a reading age of a twelve year old and I had to write to that.
I was crestfallen at the thought of dumbing down my writing. My idea was to save endangered words, not stomp them into extinction.
But from a business writing perspective, she was right. And since I started as a journalist many years ago and moved into public relations, I have tailored my writing for my audience - simplifying it when I've needed to.
However, in my fiction realm I try to use a wider variety of words to keep the prose rich and warm. So here are some of my favourites that I love to use, but try not to over-use:
- Snavel
- Perch
- Snare
- Myriad
- Sporadically (thank you Clueless)
- Exasperated
- Blurt
- Scouring
- Scooch
- emanates
So, what are some of your favourite words?
Ooh, perch is so pretty. I always get sporadically and spontaneously mixed up when I talk.
ReplyDeleteI recenly discovered that I overused the word "jovial" in a story. But it's so fun! :)
Ah, words.
I don't know why, but 'slip' has always been a favorite word of mine and it manages to slip into my writing (see!) more frequently than it should.
ReplyDeleteI love to use the word "malarky" ^_^
ReplyDeleteNice list! I love action words that have to do with fighting. Like "thrust" and "swing" and "parry." Dang, I just love words in general.
ReplyDeleteTotally! I use totally way too much. LOL
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I must love the word especially b/c I use it way too much in my writing. Other fun words that come to mind: surreptitiously, scrabble, extricate, glistening, sparkle. Hey, sounds like a good story...
ReplyDeleteabsence. It just strikes a chord within my heart...
ReplyDelete"faraway" and "whisper" are favourites, and I love using "amorevolous" as well, because it's so unheard of, haha.
ReplyDeleteClueless! ♥
I like sharp, hard words like 'shard' and 'shatter' and 'blade'. But the words I overuse like crazy in my work are 'just' and 'look'....
ReplyDeleteMy favorite word is buckyballs (which is actually an atom. Aka buckminsterfullerene in the science world).
ReplyDeleteAnyways, whenever I'm reading I keep those little sticky flags with me so that when I find a word I don't know, I flag it and then when I'm done with the book, I look them all up. In the latest book I read, The Unbecoming of Maya Dyer (LOVED IT), I learned 28 new words. :D
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ReplyDeleteI like Divergent, Delirium, Wither...no, wait, those are books.
ReplyDeleteJuxtaposition is one of my favorites. Also marmalade. Although as an actual thing if I had to chose between the former and the latter I would always chose the former.
Sereh - we had to do coursework on bucky balls, and me and my friends turned it into a euphemism - endless fun for a bunch of immature 16-yr-olds!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite words are "unutterably", "melancholy" and "Autumn". I think it says something about me as a person ;)