When it comes to writing, words are it. Obviously. But as
writers we don’t want to get caught using clichéd phrases and/or descriptive words. And honestly, we want to use words in such a way that others
may just come to revel in them as we do. (Well, ok, at least I want to do that.)
We’re not talking Overkill,
but Zest—
Instead of writing about your green-eyed female character in
such a way that she’s practically identical to the rest of the world’s female
characters (who just happen to have
full lips, high cheekbones, a slender/straight nose, and green, almond-shaped
eyes in common), grab our attention and make your character stand out! Go for
specifics with the color, shape, size, lid-type, etc.
Hone in on those descriptive skills! Are her eyes really
just plain green, which honestly could range from the cliché emerald to the
(also cliché) sea green—or are they chartreuse?
When I read chartreuse, I have a clear picture in my mind of exactly the shade
of green the author is talking about.
Use clever, identifiable imagery! Are they like the spring
leaves outside her window, or the prickly bunch of holly near her front door?
(Mind you, I honestly have no idea what holly is. I wanted to say mistletoe…and
then I realized that I dunno what that looks like, either. Good thing I’m not
writing a book about plants.)
The point is, we’re writers. We can do WAY better than green.
Wrangle the nerve of
Nuance—
Choosing just the right word can be difficult, but the work
involved to get it is SO worth it. Not only will you have the immense
satisfaction that it’s the perfect fit, but others will note the care you took
to wrangle it.
When it comes to nuance, a thesaurus is a trusty, insightful
friend. I usually use Webster’s online version because I’ve found that it’s free,
quick, easy, and best of all, it generates a LOT of words.
In a poem I wrote
called Blue (*sidenote* so excited about sending it out to Wicked Alice!!!), I
had the hardest time coming up with a word that would describe dark yellow/tan/sandy
rhyolite (a type of stone you find on the beach)…and so I put in ‘tan’ in the
thesaurus…
and I tinkered around with my options, making a list of
suitable words and plugging each on it in again to get another word or two until
I finished the list. I quickly realized that there was no one word that captured
what I saw…but two words might.
I settled for dusky ochre rhyolite. Pretty good
compared to tan or sandy rhyolite, right? I should right an ode to the
thesaurus…
