. Words are so interesting. During my school years, I had three years of Latin, four of French, and two of Spanish. I can't speak any of them, but it made me more aware of my own language.
In answer to your question - I usually use a thesaurus because you have a word you could use but it just doesn't have the right flavor. That sums it up nicely. Since I'm always working in Word, I'll type the 'almost-right' word, then use the internal MS Word thesaurus to see if I can identify the exact word I'm looking for. If not, I'll check thesaurus.com when I get back online. And ultimately, if I can't find the exact derivation I want, I may end up just settling for the 'almost-right' word, if it conveys my meaning 'well enough'.
I won't use words I didn't know before seeing them in the thesaurus; it acts more as a memory boost. We all have so many words in our brain that it can sometimes be difficult to dig up the exact word we want, without the reminder of the thesaurus. But, if I recognize them, I expect my readers to do so as well; I've never held back from using a word because I thought it was too high-falutin'. (And if they don't, I expect that they can understand the meaning through context.) On the other hand, I write simple "friendship" stories without a lot of depth; the issue of 'big' or 'fancy' words rarely comes up. *g*
How often do you research just looking for a specific word?
Very seldom. I've done it occasionally, when there seems to be only one general-use word for the item or idea. If that means I have to use the same word four times in one paragraph, I'll go searching for alternatives.
Have you ever had it happen that someone says, "Whoa, showing off your vocab!" when you used a word you thought was pretty common?
Just once. A commenter thought that the character wouldn't use the phrase "harbinger of Spring" in a letter (despite the fact that it's a well-known phrase!). *g* Different takes on the character; I know the man is educated, and I believe that it's human tendency to write a bit more 'upscale' than we speak, so it worked for me. I'll shrug off the occasional remark as, we all have different expectations in our characters. If several people noted word choice in many of my stories, I might re-think my vocabular habits. Otherwise, it's a "you can't please all of the people all of the time" situation.
Also, how concerned are you with word choice?
Very. I've sometimes spent five or ten minutes searching my brain / using Word's thesaurus / using thesaurus.com to find the exact word that I want, to convey the precise meaning that I intend. But when proofing my work, I may decide on a different word (sometimes simpler) to better fit the 'flow' of the passage. But, when all else fails, I will 'settle' for the 'adequate' word; if the story keeps moving along, the occasional 'not-quite-but-almost-right' word will not jar the reader.
pick the word that feels right to me.
And that's what it all comes down to. However we find that word, we want to use it to enhance our story. I don't think any method is 'wrong' if we keep that goal in mind. .
no subject
Words are so interesting. During my school years, I had three years of Latin, four of French, and two of Spanish. I can't speak any of them, but it made me more aware of my own language.
In answer to your question - I usually use a thesaurus because you have a word you could use but it just doesn't have the right flavor. That sums it up nicely. Since I'm always working in Word, I'll type the 'almost-right' word, then use the internal MS Word thesaurus to see if I can identify the exact word I'm looking for. If not, I'll check thesaurus.com when I get back online. And ultimately, if I can't find the exact derivation I want, I may end up just settling for the 'almost-right' word, if it conveys my meaning 'well enough'.
I won't use words I didn't know before seeing them in the thesaurus; it acts more as a memory boost. We all have so many words in our brain that it can sometimes be difficult to dig up the exact word we want, without the reminder of the thesaurus. But, if I recognize them, I expect my readers to do so as well; I've never held back from using a word because I thought it was too high-falutin'. (And if they don't, I expect that they can understand the meaning through context.) On the other hand, I write simple "friendship" stories without a lot of depth; the issue of 'big' or 'fancy' words rarely comes up. *g*
How often do you research just looking for a specific word?
Very seldom. I've done it occasionally, when there seems to be only one general-use word for the item or idea. If that means I have to use the same word four times in one paragraph, I'll go searching for alternatives.
Have you ever had it happen that someone says, "Whoa, showing off your vocab!" when you used a word you thought was pretty common?
Just once. A commenter thought that the character wouldn't use the phrase "harbinger of Spring" in a letter (despite the fact that it's a well-known phrase!). *g* Different takes on the character; I know the man is educated, and I believe that it's human tendency to write a bit more 'upscale' than we speak, so it worked for me. I'll shrug off the occasional remark as, we all have different expectations in our characters. If several people noted word choice in many of my stories, I might re-think my vocabular habits. Otherwise, it's a "you can't please all of the people all of the time" situation.
Also, how concerned are you with word choice?
Very. I've sometimes spent five or ten minutes searching my brain / using Word's thesaurus / using thesaurus.com to find the exact word that I want, to convey the precise meaning that I intend. But when proofing my work, I may decide on a different word (sometimes simpler) to better fit the 'flow' of the passage. But, when all else fails, I will 'settle' for the 'adequate' word; if the story keeps moving along, the occasional 'not-quite-but-almost-right' word will not jar the reader.
pick the word that feels right to me.
And that's what it all comes down to. However we find that word, we want to use it to enhance our story. I don't think any method is 'wrong' if we keep that goal in mind.
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