Mark Twain said, "The difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between lightening and a lightning bug."
When you're stuck, how do you find that right word? I often find myself checking MS Word's synonym checker, but those only go so far. What other resources does your inner "word freak" tap into? I'd love to know!
One right word that struck home for me the other day was in The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. How often do we read about being short of breath in scary or threatening situations? She put a unique twist on it for me that struck home in a powerful way:
" . . . my breath slipped out of me . . ."
Simple, effective and memorable, it was the right word in the right context. Lightning.
Simple, effective and memorable, it was the right word in the right context. Lightning.
9 comments:
If I get really stuck on a word, I'll mark it and come back later. Often I find that the phrasing I want will come to me when I'm busy doing something else.
I read that book, did you like it?
Any time a word confuses me, I set it aside until I better understand its meaning. A recent example of this was the word Americana. I wanted to make sure I used it properly, so I looked it up. Fortunately, it fit with what I needed it for.
I hate to admit it... but I google a lot of words. their in my head but just can remeber how to spell them , and i want to make sure they mean what i thought they meant.
Amy - I am about 80 pages into "The Help" and have really enjoyed what I've read so far. When I read, there are always two things that I hope to enjoy -- a good story and great writing. In this case, I have been more impressed with the writing, which has kept me reading.
I use my Roget's Thesaurus and my handy little Random House Dictionary more then anything.
Lee
Tossing It Out
I use a thesaurus but I also sometimes put words in bold if I know something else would sound better. Just reminds me to come back to it.
Love the quote at the beginning of this post!
When I'm really stuck, I often find myself visiting http://thesaurus.com - a great online resource.
Hey Ben! Your story came to mind the other day and I'm wondering how things are going for you. Hope all is well despite the radio silence!
Cheers,
Kim
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