Hey writers and RPers! - Printable Version
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Hey writers and RPers! - Buggy Girl - 10-13-2014
This is something I've been meaning to post about here for a LONG time.
thesaurus.com
As a mod, I read through a lot of the roleplay and fiction here. In fact, I read almost everything. And something I've noticed is thus: Many of the stories and roleplay threads are quite lacking in extensive vocabulary.
Sometimes, I find myself losing interest VERY quickly in something I'm reading because the same adjectives and verbs are used over and over and Over and OVER. What makes a story great for me is when the author(s) has an expansive vocabulary and makes use of it.
Some of you, I know, are considerably younger than me. Some of the very prolific members of this site are a good ten years my junior. I'm not especially old, but I have been writing for sixteen years, and my vocabulary has only expand in that time.
And I'm offering all of you now this tip, if you want to broaden your vocabulary and improve your writing: PLEASE make use of a thesaurus. Most word programs have one if you highlight a word and right click on it. And if you're typing right here on the forum, well...The website I linked to above will certainly come in handy.
USE IT.
RE: Hey writers and RPers! - WolfgangD - 10-14-2014
If I might offer a slight addition: Use it responsibly. The book How Not to Write a Novel has two chapters regarding the injudicious use of a thesaurus ("The Crepitating Parasol" and "The Crepuscular Handbag"), including writing samples where big fancy words are used for the sake of using big fancy words, and the writing suffers for it.
It helps to go to the sister site, dictionary.com, and look up the meaning of the synonyms you find in the thesaurus. Most of the time, the meanings will be similar enough that you'll have no problem, but every now and then you'll save yourself the trouble of using a word with a different implied use. As Mark Twain put it, "The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between the lighting and the lightning-bug."
The best way to build your vocabulary is to read a lot. Read and read and read, and when you feel you can't read any more, flop down and think back over what you read and make new connections. When you run into a word you don't know, look it up or try to puzzle out the meaning from its context. But if you're hurting for time, the thesaurus can help enrich your parlance - just remember that it's a tool, and the same hammer that drives a nail in squarely can also smash your thumb if you're not careful. ;)
RE: Hey writers and RPers! - Belly Button - 10-26-2014
Hi Buggy Girl! I do occasionally use a Thesaurus when I write my stories as I'm fully aware that there may be the odd word or phrase which does crop up more regularly than what's perhaps needed. In my own case I tend to find it's in conversations as there’s only so many times you can say 'said' or 'replied' before it becomes rather repetitive. I have tried to get around this in the past by not giving as much opportunity for talking within the story and perhaps writing it into plot rather than putting the plot across in conversation (if that makes sense...).
However as already stated, sometimes if you use them extensively you can end up with some very odd words mixed into sentences and paragraphs which may not necessarily work. You have to know what would and wouldn't work without simply sticking something into a sentence for the sake of it. We have to remember that the vast majority of writers who do post up stories here are not professional writers and/or may have no intention on making a career of it - myself included. I suspect most are merely gifted amateurs who are doing it in their own free time and in goodwill. Time of which may be limited.
My own advice would be to use a Thesaurus sensibly and in moderation, rather than something to use expensively to make up a story. I'm currently writing up my next Fpreg story and will happily say I've used it on four or five occasions so far - for exactly the reasons you point out. No doubt it'll be used on at least a couple more occasions before it’s finished too.
What I do find helps to improve a story is if you proof-read it to yourself before actually posting it. I know it sounds like such a basic thing to suggest but it's clear when reading some stories that this hasn't been done. In the past I've found myself not just improving basics such as grammar here and there, but adding/removing entire sentences and paragraphs where I feel it would improve the flow of the story. I'm a little unorthodox in how I write my own stories. I tend to write them up in 'chunks' which aren't necessarily in order and sometimes it needs work afterwards to knit these random 'chunks' together. A proof-read is brilliant to pick up potential faults. In the past I've re-written entire sections to make it work. I can actually think of one story I've posted where the starting six or seven paragraphs were actually the last part to be written simply because when I read the original draft back to myself, it just didn't seem to fit!
Please don't take any of that the wrong way, though. It's really good advice in general and I would largely agree with you. When used sensibly, a Thesaurus can indeed improve the depth to a story. I just wanted to make a constructive point in addition, though!
All the best!