[Discussion] The Thesaurus · 5:41pm Jul 23rd, 2015
So, once in a while I'll pass by a comment (not necessarily on my own works) that just rubs me the wrong way, and the last comment to do so dealt with writing style and the use of a thesaurus.
Now, criticisms of its use seem to stem from the fact that much 'larger' or 'complex' words are being thrown into the mix within a story... I never realize this was a problem until I read some stuff for myself and yes, throwing in big words just to make the story seem that much more thought out and complex is wrong. It's applying makeup when there's no foundational base to put it on. BUT, to label such a tool inherently bad as a result seems downright ludicrous and ultimately damaging.
Examples include the many, MANY variants of the verb 'to say,' which is important for dialogue. I've noticed that there is a small minority out there that only finds the word 'say' acceptable in a dialogue context, and any other variant is just trying to needlessly spice things up, but if that's the case, then what's the point of a great portion of the English Language? The beauty of English is that we have a massive assortment of words that at the core mean the same thing, but apply different ways of conveying it; 'say' versus 'declare' versus 'remarked' versus 'mutter' versus... you get the idea, but notice that they all inherently get the same idea across, but in a different way? Your brain visualizes the action that much differently.
Vocabularies between individuals vary greatly, so does that mean that opponents of thesauruses believe that we should only write given our own personal vocabularies? That would be naive to believe... I myself have had to use a thesaurus numerous times because I want to convey an action or a scene that much better. "Okay, I don't want to say that 'she walked with heavy steps'... is there a word that could approximate that visual? TRUDGE! 'She trudged!'" I sure as hell don't know every word and I certainly forget a few every now and then. Personally, if one takes the same direct approach each time, I feel there's a lack of variety and things become stale... as well, one can easily arrive at the age old problem of 'showing v. telling,' which is a whole 'nother discussion in and of itself.
SO, TL;DR, Thesauruses are wonderful tools and should be embraced and encouraged rather than frowned-upon, but one should understand what they're using it for (and the context in which it's called upon) rather than mindlessly adding in 'bigger' words in place of simple ones for the sake of faux-complexity.
Thoughts?
Before I start, let me begin by saying that I am in no way trying to undermine your thoughts, just presenting my own.
Bigger words are better; sometimes. I totally agree with you, as phrasing and tone itself are dependent on the length of the words used.
For example:
The walls were closing in. They had so little time to escape.
Using this format, sentences are squished together, making the reader read faster out of anticipation.
Instead of:
The walls were approaching fast, their escape window approaching in mere moments.
Here, the same thing is accomplished, but with longer words, giving a different style of detail and suspense.
Both of these frames of mind work, but both have their respective places to be used. Not willy-nilly flinging around big words to make your writing sound longer or more complex.
The only thing I can really complain about is how often you use the phrase 'pointed out.' The things I've always read, pointing out, from a literary standpoint, is basically something between a statement and a reply, as it means you're pointing something out in response to another's statement, just pointing something out like "hey, that's neat." From my years of reading, it just doesn't make much sense a lot of the time, context-wise.
TL;DR: your constant usage of the phrase "pointed out" confuses me. Halp?
3263111 that's fine, and I'm guilty of inadvertently employing the same phrase or word. I'll put down and come back to my writing, often forgetting what I used in the beginning. To me, 'pointed out,' in a general sense, means 'to make known,' 'to remark,' 'to draw attention to.' It's quite easy to use and convey what I'm trying to, but ill take what you said to heart if I'm actually using it THAT much. Then that is a problem
Just gonna submit that anyone who seriously says this doesn't know what they're on about. Repetition gets boring very quickly, and seeing a story use say, say, say, say over and over quickly numbs the reader's mind. Same with repeating any word or phrase overmuch.
That's one of the challenges of writing/editing, striking the balance between varying your word choice enough to be interesting, while avoiding the problem of seeming to want to use big words for their own sake.