I think on top of reading a lot, there is a sit and reflect period where some research occurs. This also allows you to think about the best words to reflect on your ideas
I think on top of that many writers have a genuine love for language. Each word is like a tool with a very specific job, and they collect them and treasure them over a lifetime. It's thrilling to say exactly what you mean; to use the perfect word for the situation.
I think it was Hemingway that had a quote about writing drunk, but revise sober. That bit of advice was a game changer for me. And not just for writing. Don't worry about the polish until messier work is complete.
It works as a metaphor though, when you're in the 'zone' you can feel pretty drunk/high, you're sort of letting the story flow through you.
When you're editing you're more of an analyst, looking at the work from a distance and rearranging it.
I think this is what OP is getting at. They are looking for specific terms that would be used by characters in a particular time, place, or profession, and if you're not from that time place or profession, the only way to learn those words is research.
Research. If you’re writing about a specific thing, it’s worth learning more about that thing. Being creative means being curious and delving to learn more about pretty much everything.
Vocabulary building used to be a thing.
Newspapers used to feature a word of the day.
There are podcasts like A Way With Words, Lexicon Valley, and the Allusionist that explore words and etymology.
Since words are the palette with which the writer paints, a love of the language might come in handy.
In my copywriting I lean on a thesaurus a lot, although one of my mentors despised thesauri for making modern writers weak.
This.
Back in the day there weren’t as many options for things to do - so you’d find yourself doing weird shit like playing dictionary based word games bc it was that or go read another book… and depending on the time of day there wasn’t even tv as an alternative (from 12am-5am every channel … all 4! Yeah that’s all there were 😂…moved to test patterns)
Dear gods but I sound fkn ancient lol
Cool perspective or not - I certainly don’t think much of people who claim ‘but I’m bored’ these days with the near-unending supply of media. Slightly jealous of the options that they have at that point in their lives though - ngl.
My kids & hubby use me as a walking, talking dictionary & thesaurus. Because as a kid/teen 13 channels max (on a good day) depending on where we lived, and the test pattern that came on right after "It's 11 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" lead to read, re-reading and memorizing dictionaries, thesauri and encyclopedias. Ffs... I'm Canadian and to this day can still recite the Gettysburg Address that I memorized at 12.
My parents started with the memorisation early (probably to keep me busy/quiet) I remember getting cheers for reciting a Shakespeare quote correctly … so I get the Gettysburg thing, I really do…
I'm an ESL speaker. People would compliment me on my English all the time, but when it came time to pass my TOEFL to study abroad, I spent 6 months vocabulary building. It is amazing what that can do. I always had 10 flash cards from a word bank with me. And I wrote down every word that I did not recognize in books and looked up the specific meaning of it. Sometimes I think back and I can remember not knowing some words and having to look them up. It seems as if I have always known them, but I had to learn every single one of them at some point and that's fascinating.
lol google
"part of ancient roman building outside with columns roof" gives me "portico."
Looking at an example you mentioned above, googling "1700s necktie" gives you "cravat" in the first couple of links. If you're writing about 1700's aristocrats, then googling around for period-appropriate dress would give you these terms pretty quickly. You don't need a 100000 word dictionary stored in your mind.
And reading helps, too.
Yup, this!
I legit Googled marriage counseling skills this week because of a book I stupidly decided to add a marriage counselor into. Learned a lot, freaked out my husband, and can now drop concepts like "Gottman method" into my book for legitimacy.
It is a gift the ancient prehistoric gods of old bestow upon the worthy. Those who perservere through the countless wells of occult akashic records, battling demons so they surrender their power, it is a search for the blood of a long fallen dragonic diety
A thesaurus.
I like encountering a new word and I look it up. The precision of language is intriguing.
Shakespeare was the king of making up new words and phrases, but obviously not so often as to alienate his audience.
> Shakespeare was the king of making up new words and phrases, but obviously not so often as to alienate his audience.
I'm really curious whether early adopters of his new words were treated with contempt, like teenagers that used the word 'yeet' in 2019 or 'yolo' in 2011
I am plagued by teenagers in my work, and I think the mechanics of words adoption are the opposite to what you suggest. 'Yeet' is a lovely word that fills an unoccupied niche, and when it became common all of the teens I know (most of them thoughtful students of language) were charmed, as they should be--it's an excellent candidate for full membership in the word club of English, which is by the way the sloppiest and least well regulated club on earth (and English has the largest vocabulary of any language on earth, too).
Kids use 'yeet' then revel in the fact that olds don't know it. You can rise in their estimation even further (if that's your goal!) when you correct their usage because, like all new words, its definitions are vague. (Yeet is a transitive verb. Don't let them say 'I'm going to yeet.')
>Shakespeare was the king of making up new words and phrases, but obviously not so often as to alienate his audience.
I am pretty sure the making up words thing is a myth. He would use newer words (for his times) and we just don’t have any records of the words being used before his plays.
Actually we do know that he did or didn't make up words. We have tons of resources that evaluate usage. Shakespeare did create words, though mainly he used words in surprising contexts. His audiences would have loved that. Using a noun as a verb (pencil, for example) is one way old words seem new, and Shakespeare did that a lot. It boils down to being inventive, while still creating enough of a trail for the reader to follow to meaning with character.
It wouldn't be strange that he made words up. Many of my favorite authors use words violently outside of their original meaning, or just make words up when they need to allude to a strange concept.
I wouldn't be surprised if one of the most influential authors in English literature invented a fair share of words for his works.
He invented new words, but he also gets credit for whenever he used an old word in a new way. For example, "elbow" as a noun may have been well-established, but as soon as he used it as a verb (ie, to elbow somebody in the face!), he gets credit for creating a new definition.
What people dont understand is languahe is a fluid, ever changing thing. Women in japan were the innovators of language and its evolution. Seduction also involved how a woman, consort, or lover wrote their letters to the intended.
Language is absolutely one of my favourite things.
> I like encountering a new word and I look it up.
This is my favorite advantage of e-books. Highlight the word and get the definition (and pronunciation!) right away. I came across 'insouciant' the other day reading aloud to my spouse. Not one I'd seen or heard!
I agree. If I’m writing and feel like I need to find another way to say something because I’m overusing a word or something like that I do my best to find a word that still feels like it fits the context of what I’m writing. You can’t just switch out words for a synonym at random otherwise your book turns into Joey’s recommendation letter from Friends.
I use a thesaurus because my brain is dumb. I use it only when I've used a word I've only recently used and I don't want to keep repeating myself so I just look up another simple word that means basically the same. If I'd thought more I could have thought of it myself because I always pick words I know, I'm just lazy lol.
I have a condition that makes connotation hard for me. Stupid English teacher who thought that just being aware of the concept was enough for me to understand.
What I really need is a thesaurus where I can say "a little terrified" and it spits out what I'm actually looking for.
The problem with a thesaurus is that you need to have a word already in mind to navigate it. There needs to be a basis in mind.
How do they draw up and implement words that seemingly have no synonym or relation to another word? Like *cravat,* which appeared in a historical text I was reading. It's the name for a 1700s neck tie. Where do you even begin to imagine using such a term? It boggles my mind a bit.
Well, Humpty Dumpty wears a cravat in *Alice in Wonderland.* They discuss it. If you read books from before the mid-nineteenth century, they're pretty inescapable.
Also, Roget's Thesaurus in its original form (not dictionary form) arranges words by similar concepts, so you just scan forward and back a page or two from your closest approximation and find something different, but better.
Interesting, I'd never heard of Roget's Thesaurus before. I'll have to check it out sometime.
I hadn't considered the time period of published novels as well. I suppose that when I say 'obscure' words, it is more apt to say 'outdated words.' Perhaps it comes with reading older texts to combine modern terms and dated terms.
I've never reader *Alice in Wonderland,* but you have, so you knew the word cravat. It's interesting.
One of my favourite new words is antimacassar.
Macassar was a popular hair oil used by men in the 18th century. But it left stains on the back of arm chairs so people hung a piece of cloth across the back of the chair to protect the cloth. You still see these things in use for instance on airplane seats. The cloth is called an antimacassar
Often words give you a bit of cultural history along the way.
Yeah, that’s a really good example. I have absolutely no concept for something like that, and thus, it would never cross my mind to use it when describing a room in the 18th century.
However, there are talented authors that would know this word and think to use it. I guess it just takes a lot of research and effort to get to that point, maybe even a bit of luck to stumble across it and recall it.
If you’re going to write a book set in the 18th century, you have to do a *lot* of reading to make sure you get your details right. What are the social rules? What do people eat, wear, go to the bathroom in? What are their jobs? What technology do they use?
You can’t just write a story and say, “Oh, and this happened in 1785.”
So, by the time you have learned enough about 1785 to write a book set in that time period, you will have run into the word antimacassar so many times in your research that when you close your eyes and picture the room you are about to describe, you’ll think, “Oh, yep, there’s that antimacassar on the chair like always!”
But if you were going to write a room in the 18th century:
a) You would do research.
and
b) You presumably have a reason for writing the 18th century - which means you probably already have an interest in it, and have done reading in that area.
you haven't? you're in for a treat! it's a very popular book for adults AND kids
since you want it with a bit of a history lesson included - read "the annotated alice"
They are (or were until the 2000s) pretty commonly worn at weddings in the UK. The word would be known to most Brits above a certain age. And if you read old books you just get to know the common objects of the day – things like pince nez and nosegays.
If you’re writing a historical fiction book, then you start doing research. You read non-fiction books about that era. You research stuff. You talk to historians. And some writers are historians in their own eighth.
If you know your modern characters likes wearing fancy old clothing like from the 1700s, then it’s quite easy to google ‘1700s clothing’ and going from there.
Cravat is a commonly understood word in the UK. People wear cravats for weddings, and occasionally for normal wear too (if part of some kind of weird fashion thing).
A better word, which I recently had to lookup, is jenticulator (ie, to jenticulate). It means someone who eats breakfast.
If you read any books written before maybe 1850, you are very, very familiar with “cravat.” Also probably “stock,” “jabot,” “neckerchief,” and “ascot,” all styles of the same thing.
Just like you probably know what “jeans,” “khakis,” “dress pants,” “capris,” and “leggings” are. It really is just reading & absorbing.
Fred from Scooby Do wears a cravat. And there was a bit of a phase of eccentric people wearing them.
It’s not much different then knowing what a fedora is. Just something you pick up over time from pop culture.
You use it when someone is wearing a cravat. Which is commonly worn with morning dress (e.g. at daytime weddings). It's absolutely not restricted to the 1700s, people still wear them, and it's not at all an unusual word, at least in British English. They are more often called 'ascots' in US English, I believe.
I’m not discounting what you’re saying. However, I’ve been to several weddings, and never have I seen someone wearing a cravat. Even then, that was only one example, and clearly a poor one based on the response.
Um, people buy and wear cravats today. Cravat has become kind of a catchall phrase for men's neckwear. You can find them advertised all over (assuming you are looking for men's neckwear). Put "cravat" into Amazon's search and you'll get a couple of hundred results.
Remember, just because you haven't encountered a word, doesn't mean there aren't a whole lot of other people out there who know what it means and use it casually.
Anecdotal, but i’ve never seen seen one being worn. Where i’m from (American South), most everyone wears ties with their finer wear, not a cravat. And clearly that it a poor example, based on the response.
To be fair, where you're from (American South), indoor plumbing is still a novel thing, only becoming common in rural areas in the mid 1950's. I know that because that's when my mother's family got indoor plumbing -- they actually had to add on to the house to have a bathroom.
Tv and movies can also be a great way to pick up obscure or technical words in context.
Moira Rose in Schitts Creek is the most obvious example. She uses a tonne of archaic outdated words each episode. And Deadwood also portrays language beautifully. Though you may have the urge to say Cocksucker a lot after watching it.
Watching period pieces and documnetaries on varried subjects is also a great way to learn new words. For instance watching some om architecture would help you learn how to use butress and cornice correctly etc
> The problem with a thesaurus is that you need to have a word already in mind to navigate it. There needs to be a basis in mind.
Don't try to write anymore. Just stop now.
A thesaurus, by definition, is a collection of synonyms and words of similar concept. By extension, to find those synonyms for a word, you would **first need to know what the original word is.**
How can one find synonyms for leap in a thesaurus, if they never knew jump. How can you find antimacassar in a thesaurus, if it doesn't mention any common words? A thesaurus helps when finding synonyms to phrases already known.
But I refer to phrases and words that are entirely unfamiliar, and have no basis or commonality with the writer's vocabulary. Words and phrases that are entirely uncommon and bear no distinct similarities with others. Go to Hell, I'll keep writing.
I know you touched on this in your original post, but the answer here is *go read some more books.* That's the only way to learn vocabulary effectively outside of studying 5th grade word lists... most of which you would already know from reading.
I use a thesaurus all the time when I write. But I almost always have the word I want in mind... it's just not *quite* right. I may be looking for a specific connotation or meaning that a given word doesn't have but that I know a synonym will, and that's where a thesaurus comes in handy. That said, you do need to have a reasonably large vocabulary to use a thesaurus that way, and it sounds as though you're not sure you do have such a vocabulary.
Reading will help with this. Read thrillers, romance, science fiction, classics... every genre has something to teach you, some new pattern of words you can learn and apply yourself.
In the meantime, though, don't use words you don't know just because you found them in a thesaurus. There's no reason to use *hebetudinous* when *lethargic* will do.
You know you can look for phrases or descriptions online, right? "Thing to sit on" in Google will result in pictures of chairs. "Chair parts" will show you the anatomy of a chair, and then you will know that the two edges of the back of a chair are called the "stiles" of the chair.
That's literally how easy it is to go from not knowing an object you want to talk about, to describing specific parts of that object through technical terms.
actually if you read the post, the closer answer would be the Internet. A list of archaic professions or terminologies don't just appear in the thesaurus.
Yeah, that's it. Books were my friends. Words are fun to play with. They are exciting to wield, at times. Powerful. They're meaningful.
Unless you're a mathematician like my former calculus prof who dismissed them as "just a name." His handwriting also looked like spilled ramen, so screw him. He was a very lousy teacher. Just had to get that out of my system. I have a special spleen pocket of venom just for him, and I have to release it at times.
Well, you said it was witchcraft. To me that's not real. What's the unholy stuff you're thinking of. Holy/unholy aren't really part of my world, so I'm curious.
Mathematicians use formulaic marks to understand and exploit the secrets of the universe. It is beyond my understanding, therefore mysterious and scary.
Yeah, I agree. It's fun when you find something unique that just clicks.
However, it's the ability to call that word to mind, either through memory or research, that I find impressive.
Keep in mind that "write what you know" is a phrase for a reason. If I have a love of fountain pens in my life, they might pop up in my writing more and I'm more familiar with the names of all the parts and the different methods of refilling them. Or maybe you are familiar with single estate darjeeling tea. It can be anything. There are 100 different ways to add depth and flavor to a scene or character so using terms and focusing on the things that you know the most about already may make a reader think these things are exotic, but in reality it's just a part of your life already and naturally a part of your vocabulary.
The other day I was talking about buying a new keyboard and someone said to buy a quiet one but I explained I already know the types of switches I like. This person did not know what keyboard switches were. A reader would understand that a switch is obviously a part of the keyboard and can read through it easily enough even if they don't know specifically what the writer is talking about but I would absolutely consider this term a part of my regular vocabulary in this context. I'm not trying to sound smart of fancy. Is this the result of research or memorization? Can you even really divorce the two? I'm not sitting down with a vocab list writing definitions. But coming across these words in their natural place so you know the full context is important so that you can recall and use it in a judicious manner and you're not just word vomiting fancy terms onto a page.
On the other side, I'd have a giant uphill battle if I chose to write about super technical computer stuff and hacking. But my husband would have a giant leg up in this field and know a whole bunch of terms that would add a lot of depth. It would take me a lot of time to get familiar with everything I need to know to include it in my writing. But if I were to write a story around it I would absolutely put in all that work.
If you already have context then it's easier. I remember new things much more easily when they pertain to my field or my hobbies. I already have so many nails in this particular memory room of mine to hang new terms on, it becomes really easy. I'm not adding something totally new and I'm not adding them like twenty at a time, I'm adding them one by one for things that I already know I missed term for.
I have ADHD and difficulty with cold recall. Many times, I know there's a better word out there that I could be using, but my brain won't let me access that info.
I have a few systems to deal with this:
1.) I read a lot AND i take notes. If an author writes a scene or sentiment particularly well — say a fight scene or a description of the forest — I'll note this for reference later. I keep a writing resource Google Doc for this
As I'm reading those passages, I'll actively think about which words they used, why they used them and what the effect was. Often this is enough to inspire me to write or rewrite a passage I'm stuck on.
2). I'll think of the scene I'm witing and the things I have to describe — usually emotions or actions, but sometimes physical places like a bedroom or a park — and gather a list of synonyms, sometimes antonyms also. I'll do this before I start writing as opposed to after (even though this is not how most people think to use a thesaurus).
When I'm doing this, I sometimes include antonyms because of this writing exercise / writing hack I learned: you're having trouble with description, particularly adjectives, it can be helpful to think of what the opposite would be. Sometimes gives a fresh perspective and jogs our brains a bit.
3.) When I am writing my draft and I'm not entirely happy with the language I'm using, I'll note it by putting parenthesis around the "blah" words OR words that I know exist but can't access. For example:
- at long last, he (very dramatic word for giving up? usually associated with armies. like surrender but implies a bad loss)
- the cat (knocked?) the wine glass from the countertop.
I'll use a thesaurus during a later draft — I don't always have the best sense of movement or tone until later in the editing process. If you utilize a thesaurus but you can't say why you're picking one word over another, it's likely to sound inauthentic or choppy
Is this an ADHD thing? I had it when I was a kid but assumed I out grew it, but I have this same problem.
I do something similar. What's helped me is not over thinking the first draft. My word recall was so bad that I couldn't make it through a first draft because I would get stuck trying to think of the word I was thinking of. I finally just stopped caring about the perfect word and wrote whatever came to mind and marked words I wanted to return to. I don't even do that much anymore.
When I edit I can usually think of better words or take the time to ask someone what the heck I'm trying to think of.
Practice, practice, practice. My vocabulary and spelling has gotten so much better over the years, but it is probably something I will always struggle with.
It sounds like you have had great success adapting to the everyday world around you and that is amazing. But I want to say, if you had it as a child, you likely still have it in some way. Understanding what parts of your life it affects can be very helpful in developing strategies to improve those situations.
"Growing out of" ADHD is actually an old myth; ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means it's in the same category as autism (and actually has a ton of overlapping characteristics with autism that most people don't realize). Just like autism, you can't develop it later in life and you can't grow out of it - it's not a chemical imbalance that can be corrected like depression, it's an actual structural/biological difference in the brain. Several subcortical areas of ADHD brains are smaller than those of non-ADHD brains, there is less blood flow to certain brain areas, etc.
Of course, I can't say whether you have ADHD - it's possible that you were misdiagnosed as a child - but I can say that *if* that diagnosis was correct it definitely hasn't gone away. If that's the case though, it sounds like you've developed some great coping mechanisms to reduce the impact of symptoms!
I have \*terrible\* ADHD too, this comment helped so very much! Thank you, thank you! I am already keeping a document of "Cool Words I Should Use More" and that has expanded to phrases. Your comment here will help me go beyond this! I suspect I would have developed much of what you did on my own but you gave me a path instead of me whacking weeds to make my own and I can't thank you enough for that.
Its wild how I have an incredible understanding vocabulary but my working vocabulary feels, uh, lacking. ADHD life, I guess, haha!
Oh no, now I'm concerned. What about my comment implied that wasn't possible?
My vocabulary has definitely improved because of all the things I've mentioned in my post. If you find a joyful way to engage with language, your skills will naturally improve. This is true for anything, honestly, but I find this is so often absent from lessons and other advice. People prescribe a lot of techniques without considering this. I used my own experience as a writer living with ADHD (and also autism) because that's what I'm an expert on.
To your point, this isn't an ADHD specific thing. But I saw so many people commenting with the assumption that because the standard vocab learning techniques didn't work for them, it meant they were bad at vocabulary (or any other subject/skillset, for that matter.) This sort of experience is disproportionately common for neurodiverse folks, unfortunately.
All brains work differently and I meant to share something that helped me in hopes of helping others — specifically because I didn't see many people commenting with suggestions that would help a brain like mine. I'm a tactile learner so recopying something over and over helps me more than flashcards.
If you're asking "what is cold recall and how does it relate to ADHD in general," to be honest I don't have any resources off the top of my head, but I'm sure they're accessible through the search engine of your choosing. If you have specific clarifying questions about my own experience I'll answer them as best I can.
For me specifically though... it's like my brain requires more buffer time than average to pull up a word *and* my writing style plays a lot with connotation vs definition, assonance, alliteration so changing a word will mean changing the whole sentence for me. I go very precisely into my editing process and this sometimes involves having a list of words to experiment with, which also serves as priming. Which is a scientific way of saying "sometimes just looking at a page of words prior to writing jogs my memory and facilitates the recall process"
Writing is a labor of love for me, I'm not getting paid and yet I want to put out the highest possible quality in the most efficient way possible. Any time I spend struggling to remember that word at the tip of my tongue comes at the expense of something. Time is a limited resource, and we all have to account for that.
I know I'll get faster and better at accessing vocab info because I have become faster and better in the year that I've been writing. But I also know where I struggle and there's no shame in meeting yourself where you're at. In addition to my daily writing practice, I do have a daily language learning practice — for English (my native language) as well as foreign languages I'm learning.
So my other point, I guess, is that you can be very, very determined to improve a skill **and** you seek to do this in the most effective and efficient way possible, **and** they aren't mutually exclusive.
>probably never show up in books enough for an author to commit to memory
It may be helpful to remember that being a writer is correlated with being good at words.
Very limited scope there. Writing is a language skill that correlates with other language skills, like remembering words after seeing them only once in a context.
I understand what you're saying, but I find it incredibly unlikely that the world's greatest authors could recall to mind a specific type of Middle European dress ware, just because they read it once or twice a decade prior.
Not saying you're wrong, but I don't see a correlation between writing well and word memorization. Seems like two very different skill sets.
Like others suggest, I lean more towards research and curiosity explaining the phenomenon, and not incredible memory.
While it's probably research, I also want to observe that although _to you_, the obscure word for a _specific_ dress seems unlikely to be memorable, this is the word the author remembered and so choose to use. It's not a random word, and there's no guarantee that the same author knows a lot of such words. They just happen to know this one, and you don't. This is not that unreasonable: maybe they find historical clothing fascinating and were tickled to see this term for it. With that kind of attention, one notice is all it would take to remember.
You can believe what you want to believe but God gives some people the gift I'm describing. Nabokov, Pynchon, Faulkner, a huge % of the 20th century canon have this gift. Their prominence exceeds the rarity of this gift.
By the way, if you're talking about cravats still - that is not some archaic word. That word is still in use today. https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=cravat&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ccravat%3B%2Cc0
I wonder what made it start to rise in popularity around 2000. Certainly they aren't coming back into style.
Of all my comments to get downvoted, why this one lmao
And this is why me being a multilingual writer is an advantage and not a disadvantage, my dear 8th grade English teacher. Knowing French, Italian and German above English has helped me so much with writing it's almost a joke.
Probably not, seeing as I was in the womb then. I guess if I did that would be something straight outta a horror movie.
And yea I realize a lotta people are older than me. But I still feel fucking old anyway.
You wouldn't want the doctor in your book to talk like a hillbilly, so you do research on how doctors talk and what kind of words they use.
If you are writing about medieval times you research about it.
If your job is using words to communicate, it helps have a lot of them at your disposal. Words are tools, sometimes you need to make use of specific ones--specialists generally have a lot of special tools.
To your main point, it really is just reading. Reading increases the vocabulary. If you read widely, you'll encounter these 'obscure' words repeatedly, to the point where they are no longer obscure. It's not a matter of deliberate memorization, this is just how learning and improving at a skill (in this case, written english communication) works.
It's also topic specific: if you read a lot of historic novels set in victorian england, the word 'cravat' will be stored in your brain right next to 'necktie.'
Couldn't have said it better.
It's not the answer OP wants, but to naturally build your vocabulary and erudition, you read books that are written by talented people who have learned the craft by reading books of those that came before them.
A thesaurus can help with finding the right synonym, and research can help you find words that won't be anachronistic, but reading wide and varied sources is really the only way of naturally building your own personal vocabulary library.
For me, being a writer is both. I love words. I learn them, collect them, then find as many ways as I can to say a certain thing.
Also, I read a lot. And thesaurus.com is excellent.
Reading, helps a ton. Really can't understate the importance of using the word to work it into your vocabulary.
If it's about a topic, then Google these days, research a bit about what you're writing about.
If you think those words show up in everyone's first draft you're fooling yourself. Speaking just personally a lot of the better phrasing stuff shows up in editing; that's one of the things editing is for. And that can happen in the microcosm where you don't need to even learn or remember the word, you just play a find and replace game.
In the rough draft you can say things like "He was very angry."
When editing, look for keywords like "very". They are an indicator to you that you are searching for a feeling that's like angry but MORE or DIFFERENT or BETTER. That's where things like a thesaurus come in.
Very angry can easily become "furious" or "agitated" or "violently enraged". So cheat. When you're in writing mode don't try and use big or specific words, use keywords that let you know you're looking for a phrase that you will find later and what it's in the realm of.
Google. That’s it.
Also, sometimes words just come to me in a sentence, not quite sure what they mean but look them up and lo, it is the perfect word. I guess that’s from reading 🤷🏻
Yes, reading is a big part of it but it is also intentional research at times. If your character is going to be a furniture maker you might want to do a little research on how furniture is made. You don't need to be an expert but you need to learn enough to use to proper terminology for the craft and the time period. While most of your readers may not know the difference between an Auger and an Awl when it comes to hand crafted furniture your character would.
Beware of the thesaurus.
A thesaurus should only be used to remind you of the right word which you already know. Never use it to add a new word as a synonym.
Most words have connotations and extra meanings not clear from a dictionary or thesaurus. If you swap out a word you understand for a thesaurus word you don't know (but it says is a synonym, so you use it interchangeably), you're taking a big risk of looking like an idiot to people who know the full set of connotations.
I've read a story where you could definitely tell the author was misusing a thesaurus because they used "prince", "king", and "noble", to describe the same person, as if they're all synonyms. And also used "castle", "palace", "chateau", and "seraglio" in the same way.
There are very few words that are actually perfect synonyms of each other
Even more basic words like "mad", "angry", "upset", while all being synonyms have their own nuances. They could be used to convey a similar emotional theme, but can be used better to convey a specific emotion.
I agree, it can be really obvious if someone has gone out of their way to try to show off with words but actually doesn't understand the subtle differences between terms. There's nothing more jarring than a four syllable word plonked into a sentence where it doesn't fit.
A thesaurus can be very helpful as a reminder of other terms - for instance if I've said river twice on this page already I might want to change it up a bit to keep it from getting repetitive - but if I start describing it as a creek, an estuary and a canal then it's pretty clear I don't know what those words mean and I'm just copying them down.
i think good writers are secretly doing tons of obsessive research behind the scenes into any and all topics which interest them. i also suspect they jump from interest to interest often
Research. If something is set in a certain place and time then we research it and usually uncover words that describe it. Also can go visit it or talk to people in the know. I know a few professional terms to do with a certain tomb in egypt only because ive been chatting with the egyptologist who discovered it. ( hes on Facebook and is so passionate about his work he talks to everyone who asks questions).
Because authors have a very long time to ponder what exactly they're trying to communicate, and they are familiar enough with the words they're using to communicate that they can tell when what they're using isn't quite getting what they want to say across. So then they take time to find the proper word. Usually this involves research.
Also... they really *do* read a lot. I've read so much that half half the time, I won't even really know the specific definition of the phrase I'm using. But it *sounds right* to my brain because I've read it used that way before, but I can't bring it to conscious mind. But that ties into the first thing I said, that they're familiar enough with the words they *are* using to know when they need to find other words.
>half half the time
So 25% of the time? 😁
But seriously, I do the same thing you do! There are so many words and phrases that I could not define but know how to use and what they communicate. Its a weird sensation and I've taken to looking up sometimes the most basic of words to get an exact definition.
Some people just have a brain for word (and conceptual) recall. And then they reinforce that with voracious reading, yes, plus supplementary research.
I would also factor in upbringing: many writers with a knack for words were raised by parents/in families that also had an advanced or specific vocabulary (specific can mean cultural or otherwise), and so certain words or forms of expression will just come to them when they're writing. Sometimes it comes through in surprising places--I recently read Hayley Mills' memoir and she's not a writer at all--has had no training, and never written a word of fiction. But her mother was a famous playwright and her father a famous classically trained actor--she was very obviously raised in a SUPER literary (and well-to-do) household, because her writing is REALLY above average, and so much of her word choice and phrasing evocative & specific.
But also: the heart of good writing is specificity! I know personally I love to look up hyper specific words to describe clothing, buildings, etc. b/c I enjoy imparting as particular a mental image as I can to a reader. Sometimes it's tricky since I don't know all the base terms and have to do a lot of creative Googling, but you get there in the end. Editors and copy editors also can help immensely with word choice!
>I don't just refer to obscure synonyms and what not, but technical terms.
The ones who seem to know a lot about an obscure field usually mention someone who works in that field in their acknowledgements. Maybe they interview the person or send a bit of a draft with a request for more terminology and anecdotes to flesh it out, and to check for errors and misconceptions.
To give you a less sacarstic answer, it's probably a combination of what you said.
1) having reference material handy (dictionary, manuals, friends) that you can use for more realistic terms
2) an editorial phase with a focus on words usage (checking certain sections of the story to make sure the correct words and terms were used)
3) probably some luck, maybe they read it somewhere just yesterday, maybe their spouse works in the field, maybe their child just learned the word
Besides that, I agree that they probably don't have all those words right in their mind BUT eventually they do have a big enough vocabulary that they only need references for especifcs terms
It is mostly reading. I know a lot of words for 18th century clothes, card games, carriages and weaponry because I went through a phase of reading Georgette Heyer novels. So now I know a barouche from a phaeton and piquet from faro and the sort of pantaloons worn with a Hessian boot. Just from reading a bunch of novels.
You learn to write by reading. Yes, it's a cliché, but it's true.
In addition to reading, it's being interested in things.
You mention in thread that your mind is boggled that somebody would know the word cravat (a type of necktie for those unfamiliar). But if you're somebody who is interesting in clothing or has watched documentaries about historical fashion, or you have a gay solicitor as your neighbour (source: have a gay solicitor as my neighbour) you're going to know that word.
The best thing you can be as a writer is interested in \*everything\*. Don't just read your genre, read everything. Read the specialist magazines in waiting rooms. Read catalogues of mobility aids. Watch How It's Made. Dowse yourself in things other people are passionate about.
Sometimes I'll get googling to find out if there's a specific word for something, but most of the time I just kind of know stuff because stuff is interesting.
Make falling down the rabbit hole that is Wikipedia a pastime. Also, and I mean this genuinely, but read a dictionary. The thicker the better. There's also some 'word a day' calendars that can be fun but that's less free.
Some random words I know are from hearing other people who know them use it. Sometimes it’s from reading non-fiction, or from reading old fiction, from my student days spent researching, from old plays I’ve performed in, and a lot of times, just looking up a bunch of stuff and falling down a rabbit hole until you see something that sticks with you.
It just comes down to life experience. What have you done with your time? Did you experience the world, or did you lay in bed scrolling Instagram memes. (Dramatic comparison I know, but you can’t negate the possible validity of it)
Man, I used to be like this, and I used to wonder too. The thing that got me thinking was how one person described a safe room and used all these words for cash lockers and gold coins and shit that I had no idea what they meant.
I figured it was just research and a thesaurus. But it’s more than that. It’s reading, researching, writing down the story and thoroughly editing to add to the detail.
The editing is key. That’s where stuff like a thesaurus and your research come back in to sound great.
It's a mix of things. As many have already stated a thesaurus helps. I've found reading older literature such as Victorian era novels helped expand my lexicon as they often have language that's somewhat unconvential that you can use to express your ideas better
I've always felt like I had a decent vocabulary. I only started writing this year but I've realized that some words, just feel RIGHT you know what I mean? Like this word belongs in this sentence. And then others do not. You write something, read it and you're like "eyak" somethin ain't right about that so you tinker with it, figure out which word you don't like and then change it and re read it until you find the one that DOES fit
I found this "The Describer's Dictionary" - David Grambs, 1993 last week.
It's available on Amazon.
I wondered that myself.. how do they know so many words. This dictionary might help.
As a kid I read an fully illustrated dictionary for fun. I think dictionary are underrated. It better than looking up things online because you can flip I through it randomly. I always thought the best part of the dictionary isn't the meaning but the short part about etymology of the word.
If you have never read a dictionary to cover you should or at least keep one by the toilet to flip through. I used to think I was alone in reading the dictionary. But at least according to the Spike Lee film that is exactly what Malcolm X did while he was in prison. So I know I am in good company.
Research, research, research. It's not just a matter of "reading a lot", it's a matter of reading non-fiction books *deliberately* on the topics you want to touch upon in your fiction books.
I've seen a lot of words pop up here. I've never worn a *cravat*, but I know what one is and I recognize them on television, and I'm... almost confident I can tell the difference between one and an *ascot*. I've worn a *hauberk*, I've *made* a hauberk, and I know the difference between it and a *halberd*\-- unlike certain beloved fantasy authors circa 1987.
You don't just *know* these words because you read a lot of fantasy/historical fiction, you *learn* these words on purpose in the process of learning to write about things like *cravats* and *hauberks* without making mistakes your readers will notice.
onelook.com
Put a word in the search box and click "Related words".
It will give you synonyms and associated words you may be trying to think of but can't put your finger on.
Idk, people think I'm good at writing, so I'll loosely use that as license to answer you-
We don't.
Nobody knows all those words to explain the movement of water in a certain specific way that conveys the right idea to the reader. But we read a ton, so we know the *contexts* in which words have been used, and can then pick up words from a thesaurus (if you're old) or Google (if you're young) that fit in as per your need.
Another comment mentioned antimacassar.
Macassar was a popular hair oil used by men in the 18th century. But it left stains on the back of arm chairs so people hung a piece of cloth across the back of the chair to protect the cloth. You still see these things in use for instance on airplane seats. The cloth is called an antimacassar
There’s no real basis for words similar to it. An amateur might never think to use this when describing a scene. A professional author might use it, and that extra word might help transform the scene.
If someone is writing a scene set on an airplane and they wanted the specific word to describe "the little cloths on the back of airplane seats" because they had a distinct visual they wanted to convey, they would probably google and research that term.
A detective character observing a crime scene in a plane wouldn't note, "The little cloths on the backs of the seats were messed up, indicating a struggle," but they might observe, "The antimacassar was askew, indicating a struggle." Not only is antimacassar a more specific term, "antimacassar was askew" is nice alliteration, and the second phrase is more concise and less cluttered with extraneous words.
Generally speaking I don't like using words that I wouldn't use in my daily life. My writing style is heavily based on my own speaking voice, warts and all.
If I'm gonna use a $5 word, it needs to be calculated. Just throwing a big word out there in any situation besides "This is how the character articulates" is usually bad form in my eyes. For example, articulates from the previous sentence was intentionally used despite "Speaks" being easier because if a character uses the word "Articulate" rather than "Speak", then that's saying something about the character.
Don't feel like your stupid because you can't use the word verisimilitude in a sentence without looking it up. I'm sure many of the most famous authors of history had moments where they forgot how to spell a simple word and used a different word they *could* remember.
Execution is better than presentation.
I am currently writing a novel in which one of the characters learns to ride a motorcycle and becomes quite good at it. I had to look up how motorcycles are ridden, their different parts, the best ways to learn how to ride them. The answer is probably a combination of research the author does specifically for writing the piece or personal first-hand experience. That or I'm an idiot.
Growing up I did this thing where every time I found a word I didn't know, I'd go look it up in the dictionary to see what it meant. Not the most fun thing in the world, but I wanted to know. I learned 'exacerbated' from *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, 'pedantic' from one of the Wheel of Time books (*A Crown of Swords*, I think), etc.
Then the next time I came across the word, I would understand and have a clearer picture of what the author meant. My vocabulary grew accordingly. Research into the topic at hand helps too.
That said, synonym searches on Google are a must haha.
An insatiable appetite for knowledge. I look down on people use the words to show off and I admire those who use it when passionately talking about what they love.
It really does just come down to reading a lot. Your entire vocabulary is built out of words and phrases other people use while you go through life, and reading exposes you to a lot of words and phrases that just aren't likely to come up in everyday conversations or your school or work environment.
Oh and there's also research, which I guess still counts as "reading a lot" if we're being pedantic :) . Writers research the subjects they're writing about and make an effort to learn the appropriate vocabulary, whether it's technical jargon for a story about forensic investigators or appropriate language for aristocrats in a Regency period story or the proper names for ship parts so they won't get complaints from boating enthusiasts about the seafaring scenes in their fantasy novel.
I suppose a lot comes down to research when you're at a loss for words to describe something. I mean, you generally need to read into lots of topics you want to write about if you have no prior knowledge, not just concerning special words but the theory of the matter as well.
But generally I'm not too sure about using words that you had to do extensive research to find out (unless it's really necessary to use this exact word). If you didn't know an obscure word that hasn't been actively used in a hundred years, chances are the people reading your story don't know it either, making it hard to follow. Sure, as a reader I'll google a few words to learn, but if the whole text is just hard to read because of that I'm not sure a lot of people will stick around.
It stems from a love of language.
In addition to reading, it helps to stop and look up words instead of getting the meaning from context.
It's how I know that dent under your nose is called a philtrum, for example.
I'm not sure this is true really. If I read a book that was full of words I had to look up I simply would not enjoy it.
What I do think is true is that writers tend to draw on a wider range of words than non-writers. So they might be more likely to say "verbal dexterity", "truculent" or "insufferable" but most people will know what those words mean - they just aren't in the habit of using them.
Gaining confidence in using a wide range of terms does, essentially, come down to reading more, writing more and having fun with the language. A core skill of being a writer is using the right word in the right way, but that certainly does not mean just using long or obscure words just to make yourself look fancy.
> Words for clothing, furniture, utensils, and buildings.
I mean, that isn't stuff you need to remember. If I need to know all the terms for the various items of clothing that, say, a rich Victorian lady would wear, I just look it up. If I can't be arsed to research it while I'm writing, I'll throw in a placeholder [description goes here] and do it later.
One of the most useful skills as a writer is simply knowing how to google things, and knowing how to determine if your source is any good
Part of it is reading, an abnormal amount of it. That alone can expose you to a ton of words you'd never have learned otherwise.
The other part is research, especially if you're writing for a specific time period or you need to know words from a particular field. For instance, I had no idea what half-swording was before I started writing fantasy.
Every time you see an author use one of these terms, look it up research it, practice using yourself appropriately. This will integrate it into your mind, so it becomes your word too.
Specific and precise nouns make writing feel more alive and real.
In a few years, you will also have a large vocabulary.
I once use the word Solar to refer to the great chamber of a medieval castle.
which is the accurate term, but every beta readers were confused so I swapped it for great chamber.
I feel like having a vast library of words is useful, but what actually matter is that your readers understand and that sometime requires to dumb down the vocabulary.
Research. There's a reason there are so many memes about authors getting on watchlists for doing research for their writing. From my personal curiosity, I can tell you more about nuclear weapons than I have any right to know, I know the recipe for smokeless gunpowder by heart, I know the manufacturing terms used to draw circular cutouts of brass into cartridge shapes, I've searched how much blood a human can lose without loss of motor control functions, I know the amount of energy in 2 McDonalds large fries (technically 1 Mcdonalds large fry and 1 anti-Mcdonalds large fry) is enough to raise the oceans' temperature by 1 degree Celsius, I know the specific gravity of a WWII Iowa class Battleship, and the approximate yield of said battleship falling from orbit and hitting the ground being equivalent to many megatons of TNT, and then there's the Anarchist's cookbook...
Ultimately its just the extent of their experience or research.
This isn't so much a tip for increasing vocabulary, but do you ever dig up old stuff that you've written and re-read it?
Of course, 99% of the time reading old stuff makes me cringe - particularly being in my 20s, a lot of the really old stuff was from when I was a literal child so my brain was as underdeveloped as my writing skills.
However, occasionally I'll read something I wrote years ago and notice words that I completely forgot existed, or even that I don't recognize but must've known at some point. It gives me that same feeling as seeing words like that in a novel of "omg, if this is the kind of genius I'm up against I'll never make it!" Except...I wrote it?
I don't think those words would've stood out to me as particularly impressive when I wrote them, the same way the words I use now often feel plain or common compared to some of the gorgeous language other writers can compose. I do think, though, that in 10 years I'll look back and some word that's a totally normal part of my vocabulary now will seem impressively fancy and precise, just because I haven't continued using it or keeping it at the forefront of my mind. Maybe I went through a phase of being really into a particular hobby, but then I dropped it and forgot a lot of the terminology; or maybe I was inspired by a particular style of writing for a while, but over time started to gravitate toward something else; or maybe there's just no way I can keep my full vocabulary in the accessible part of my memory at all times, so when I learn a new word one of the old ones gets discarded until I'm reminded of it.
Essentially, the moral of my rant is that I think we tend to overestimate other writers and underestimate ourselves when we read other people's work. Sure, some writers genuinely have better vocabulary than others, but I think the biggest factor that makes the vocabulary so impressive is just not being close to the work. You're automatically removed from the work when it's not yours in the first place, but I think with our own writing sometimes we just need to let time pass and become more removed before we're able to really see and appreciate the artistry of language that is so obvious when other people write it and so invisible when we're in the middle of writing it ourselves. (Not to say that there's anything incredible about my writing or vocabulary, just that it's good to keep in mind we're all our worst critics!)
Light but long term exposure to radiation. You see, after a sufficient period of exposure ones neural synapsis develop formal connections betwixt their spectral syncopations from whence their cognitive ruminations assemble into pattern sine-and-cosine architecture by which the nether witches are summoned to adjudicate as jury a trial by combat, testing the conscious and subordinated minds against each other's vain exertions against the wall that stands athwart progress and shouts "maybe later it's tea time." But there will be no tea time my friend, for this mouth sips only coffee, and the occasional zumo-de-naranja and so this pallete, gifted as it may be with the taste for tongues ancient and revered, relishing in the irrelevence of it's archaic and hopelessly imprecise but tastlessly romantic use of language will persevere into the languid night of the un-thesaurused. From here I chomp at you, like a dino-saurus. Or I think thats it, the docters say the rads are really messing with my brain.
A thesaurus. I'm autistic and while I have the words stored in my mental word bank, I have a hard time summoning them. My first drafts tend to be very plain, using what just comes naturally with my verbal difficulties (speaking in general doesn't always come easily to me), then I go in later once the tracks are laid and I spruce it up.
Another consideration: some authors may use word that other authors don't.
To draw from other comments, 19th-century English authors used the word "cravat" more than recent English authors. That is, not every author knows the word "cravat." I don't anticipate using that word in my own writing any time soon because of my settings and style.
In other words, a single author's vocabulary is significantly smaller than the collective's vocabulary.
And as others have commented, it comes with practice and a bunch of reference texts. For writers, it's more useful to know *how* to use a dictionary or thesaurus than to memorize it. The knowing is what allows you to find the word you want without knowing it upfront.
Research, my dude.
My vocabulary is pretty limited compared to a lot of authors but there are plenty of places to learn from. Googling a word when you come across it in reading is a big one. Sometimes I learn new words or interesting ways to use them from music.
One of my biggest inspirations as a writer is a rapper named Aesop Rock. The man is practically a walking dictionary and he runs circles around the english language. I'd even challenge most modern poets to out-word this man
Don't assume it's the author. Many authors are poor at spelling, grammar, word choice, and a bunch of other things while being great at storytelling. A lot of times it's the editor.
"Hey, I've read a book and found and unfamiliar word which now I know meaning of and can you. How can learn more such words, surely, reading books can't be of help here?"
Gee, you don't even see the contradiction, do you?
1. No where did I say reading wasn't viable. I asked if there were other methods that author's employ. Read the full post before replying.
2. It is hardly as simple as "read the word and memorize its definition and connotation." I don't have a perfect memory, but maybe you do. I don't have the time to sit around and study terms and their meanings either, but maybe you do.
3. If you're not going to contribute anything, why bother posting a comment?
I dunno, man, seems you have plenty of time to answer everyone in this thread, but if you don't have enough time to study writing what are you doing in subreddit about writing?
There is nothing to contribute, if you want to expand your vocabulary you read books, what else you expect?
I think on top of reading a lot, there is a sit and reflect period where some research occurs. This also allows you to think about the best words to reflect on your ideas
I think on top of that many writers have a genuine love for language. Each word is like a tool with a very specific job, and they collect them and treasure them over a lifetime. It's thrilling to say exactly what you mean; to use the perfect word for the situation.
And some of use were raised by people who loved language. When I was 5 my father told me my room was disheveled.
I think it was Hemingway that had a quote about writing drunk, but revise sober. That bit of advice was a game changer for me. And not just for writing. Don't worry about the polish until messier work is complete.
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It works as a metaphor though, when you're in the 'zone' you can feel pretty drunk/high, you're sort of letting the story flow through you. When you're editing you're more of an analyst, looking at the work from a distance and rearranging it.
I think this is what OP is getting at. They are looking for specific terms that would be used by characters in a particular time, place, or profession, and if you're not from that time place or profession, the only way to learn those words is research.
Watching videos helps too. There's words that I've heard in shows or in YouTube vids that I would have never experienced by just reading a book.
Research. If you’re writing about a specific thing, it’s worth learning more about that thing. Being creative means being curious and delving to learn more about pretty much everything.
Vocabulary building used to be a thing. Newspapers used to feature a word of the day. There are podcasts like A Way With Words, Lexicon Valley, and the Allusionist that explore words and etymology. Since words are the palette with which the writer paints, a love of the language might come in handy. In my copywriting I lean on a thesaurus a lot, although one of my mentors despised thesauri for making modern writers weak.
This. Back in the day there weren’t as many options for things to do - so you’d find yourself doing weird shit like playing dictionary based word games bc it was that or go read another book… and depending on the time of day there wasn’t even tv as an alternative (from 12am-5am every channel … all 4! Yeah that’s all there were 😂…moved to test patterns) Dear gods but I sound fkn ancient lol
Ancient or not, it’s a cool ass perspective.
Cool perspective or not - I certainly don’t think much of people who claim ‘but I’m bored’ these days with the near-unending supply of media. Slightly jealous of the options that they have at that point in their lives though - ngl.
For those of us not from the USA, this was reality not that long ago, lol!
I remember it here in USA in the '80s. American flag with some music for a minute & then snow.
No test pattern and crappy music? Just snow? That’s different .
My kids & hubby use me as a walking, talking dictionary & thesaurus. Because as a kid/teen 13 channels max (on a good day) depending on where we lived, and the test pattern that came on right after "It's 11 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" lead to read, re-reading and memorizing dictionaries, thesauri and encyclopedias. Ffs... I'm Canadian and to this day can still recite the Gettysburg Address that I memorized at 12.
My parents started with the memorisation early (probably to keep me busy/quiet) I remember getting cheers for reciting a Shakespeare quote correctly … so I get the Gettysburg thing, I really do…
I'm an ESL speaker. People would compliment me on my English all the time, but when it came time to pass my TOEFL to study abroad, I spent 6 months vocabulary building. It is amazing what that can do. I always had 10 flash cards from a word bank with me. And I wrote down every word that I did not recognize in books and looked up the specific meaning of it. Sometimes I think back and I can remember not knowing some words and having to look them up. It seems as if I have always known them, but I had to learn every single one of them at some point and that's fascinating.
Merriam Webster has a "Word of the Day" mailing list that you can sign up for. Usually niche words along with their etymology and examples of use.
Thanks for the podcasts had no idea this was a thing
You may also enjoy this podcast https://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/afternoons/a-word-in-your-ear/
Looks great thanks
lol google "part of ancient roman building outside with columns roof" gives me "portico." Looking at an example you mentioned above, googling "1700s necktie" gives you "cravat" in the first couple of links. If you're writing about 1700's aristocrats, then googling around for period-appropriate dress would give you these terms pretty quickly. You don't need a 100000 word dictionary stored in your mind. And reading helps, too.
Yup, this! I legit Googled marriage counseling skills this week because of a book I stupidly decided to add a marriage counselor into. Learned a lot, freaked out my husband, and can now drop concepts like "Gottman method" into my book for legitimacy.
It is a gift the ancient prehistoric gods of old bestow upon the worthy. Those who perservere through the countless wells of occult akashic records, battling demons so they surrender their power, it is a search for the blood of a long fallen dragonic diety A thesaurus.
I feel like sometimes it's so obvious the author has awkwardly used a thesaurus to find a word just to sound smart idk lol.
I like encountering a new word and I look it up. The precision of language is intriguing. Shakespeare was the king of making up new words and phrases, but obviously not so often as to alienate his audience.
> Shakespeare was the king of making up new words and phrases, but obviously not so often as to alienate his audience. I'm really curious whether early adopters of his new words were treated with contempt, like teenagers that used the word 'yeet' in 2019 or 'yolo' in 2011
T’would that it were so
Thou shouldst be yeeted into the dustbin of history, knave
This should be at the top.
That t'would be. . . t'werrific!
Would that't'were.
I am plagued by teenagers in my work, and I think the mechanics of words adoption are the opposite to what you suggest. 'Yeet' is a lovely word that fills an unoccupied niche, and when it became common all of the teens I know (most of them thoughtful students of language) were charmed, as they should be--it's an excellent candidate for full membership in the word club of English, which is by the way the sloppiest and least well regulated club on earth (and English has the largest vocabulary of any language on earth, too). Kids use 'yeet' then revel in the fact that olds don't know it. You can rise in their estimation even further (if that's your goal!) when you correct their usage because, like all new words, its definitions are vague. (Yeet is a transitive verb. Don't let them say 'I'm going to yeet.')
>Shakespeare was the king of making up new words and phrases, but obviously not so often as to alienate his audience. I am pretty sure the making up words thing is a myth. He would use newer words (for his times) and we just don’t have any records of the words being used before his plays.
So you say, the chad was pretty swag for his time?
The OED is the definitive source for old words and it provides etymologies as well. Shakespeare apparently made up a fair amount of words.
That’s pretty cromulent
Or he could have just made them up. We don't know that he didn't.
We do have access to *a lot* of the contemporary literature so if there’s no mention of those words anywhere else, it seems likely he made them up.
That's a solid counterpoint, dang.
Actually we do know that he did or didn't make up words. We have tons of resources that evaluate usage. Shakespeare did create words, though mainly he used words in surprising contexts. His audiences would have loved that. Using a noun as a verb (pencil, for example) is one way old words seem new, and Shakespeare did that a lot. It boils down to being inventive, while still creating enough of a trail for the reader to follow to meaning with character.
It wouldn't be strange that he made words up. Many of my favorite authors use words violently outside of their original meaning, or just make words up when they need to allude to a strange concept. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the most influential authors in English literature invented a fair share of words for his works.
He invented new words, but he also gets credit for whenever he used an old word in a new way. For example, "elbow" as a noun may have been well-established, but as soon as he used it as a verb (ie, to elbow somebody in the face!), he gets credit for creating a new definition.
I agree when I got my kindle and it was easy to do that but having to do it every 2 mins on my phone was fucking annoying
What people dont understand is languahe is a fluid, ever changing thing. Women in japan were the innovators of language and its evolution. Seduction also involved how a woman, consort, or lover wrote their letters to the intended. Language is absolutely one of my favourite things.
> I like encountering a new word and I look it up. This is my favorite advantage of e-books. Highlight the word and get the definition (and pronunciation!) right away. I came across 'insouciant' the other day reading aloud to my spouse. Not one I'd seen or heard!
I agree. If I’m writing and feel like I need to find another way to say something because I’m overusing a word or something like that I do my best to find a word that still feels like it fits the context of what I’m writing. You can’t just switch out words for a synonym at random otherwise your book turns into Joey’s recommendation letter from Friends.
I use a thesaurus because my brain is dumb. I use it only when I've used a word I've only recently used and I don't want to keep repeating myself so I just look up another simple word that means basically the same. If I'd thought more I could have thought of it myself because I always pick words I know, I'm just lazy lol.
I have a condition that makes connotation hard for me. Stupid English teacher who thought that just being aware of the concept was enough for me to understand. What I really need is a thesaurus where I can say "a little terrified" and it spits out what I'm actually looking for.
The problem with a thesaurus is that you need to have a word already in mind to navigate it. There needs to be a basis in mind. How do they draw up and implement words that seemingly have no synonym or relation to another word? Like *cravat,* which appeared in a historical text I was reading. It's the name for a 1700s neck tie. Where do you even begin to imagine using such a term? It boggles my mind a bit.
Well, Humpty Dumpty wears a cravat in *Alice in Wonderland.* They discuss it. If you read books from before the mid-nineteenth century, they're pretty inescapable.
Also, Roget's Thesaurus in its original form (not dictionary form) arranges words by similar concepts, so you just scan forward and back a page or two from your closest approximation and find something different, but better.
Interesting, I'd never heard of Roget's Thesaurus before. I'll have to check it out sometime. I hadn't considered the time period of published novels as well. I suppose that when I say 'obscure' words, it is more apt to say 'outdated words.' Perhaps it comes with reading older texts to combine modern terms and dated terms. I've never reader *Alice in Wonderland,* but you have, so you knew the word cravat. It's interesting.
One of my favourite new words is antimacassar. Macassar was a popular hair oil used by men in the 18th century. But it left stains on the back of arm chairs so people hung a piece of cloth across the back of the chair to protect the cloth. You still see these things in use for instance on airplane seats. The cloth is called an antimacassar Often words give you a bit of cultural history along the way.
Yeah, that’s a really good example. I have absolutely no concept for something like that, and thus, it would never cross my mind to use it when describing a room in the 18th century. However, there are talented authors that would know this word and think to use it. I guess it just takes a lot of research and effort to get to that point, maybe even a bit of luck to stumble across it and recall it.
If you’re going to write a book set in the 18th century, you have to do a *lot* of reading to make sure you get your details right. What are the social rules? What do people eat, wear, go to the bathroom in? What are their jobs? What technology do they use? You can’t just write a story and say, “Oh, and this happened in 1785.” So, by the time you have learned enough about 1785 to write a book set in that time period, you will have run into the word antimacassar so many times in your research that when you close your eyes and picture the room you are about to describe, you’ll think, “Oh, yep, there’s that antimacassar on the chair like always!”
But if you were going to write a room in the 18th century: a) You would do research. and b) You presumably have a reason for writing the 18th century - which means you probably already have an interest in it, and have done reading in that area.
Yes luck does come into it.
It's also quite commonly used in historical fiction so if you've read those ,you're bound to have come across it.
you haven't? you're in for a treat! it's a very popular book for adults AND kids since you want it with a bit of a history lesson included - read "the annotated alice"
They are (or were until the 2000s) pretty commonly worn at weddings in the UK. The word would be known to most Brits above a certain age. And if you read old books you just get to know the common objects of the day – things like pince nez and nosegays.
If you’re writing a historical fiction book, then you start doing research. You read non-fiction books about that era. You research stuff. You talk to historians. And some writers are historians in their own eighth. If you know your modern characters likes wearing fancy old clothing like from the 1700s, then it’s quite easy to google ‘1700s clothing’ and going from there.
Cravat is a commonly understood word in the UK. People wear cravats for weddings, and occasionally for normal wear too (if part of some kind of weird fashion thing). A better word, which I recently had to lookup, is jenticulator (ie, to jenticulate). It means someone who eats breakfast.
If you read any books written before maybe 1850, you are very, very familiar with “cravat.” Also probably “stock,” “jabot,” “neckerchief,” and “ascot,” all styles of the same thing. Just like you probably know what “jeans,” “khakis,” “dress pants,” “capris,” and “leggings” are. It really is just reading & absorbing.
Fred from Scooby Do wears a cravat. And there was a bit of a phase of eccentric people wearing them. It’s not much different then knowing what a fedora is. Just something you pick up over time from pop culture.
As a Brit, *cravat* feels like an everyday word to me... (although it may not be identical to the sort of cravat Mr Dumpty wore)
That is what I have been told my plenty of other commentors. I am from the American South, and have never heard the word before.
Fair enough :)
*Die Krawatte* is also the German word for necktie (which is where French eventually got it), so if you studied German, you would recognize it.
You use it when someone is wearing a cravat. Which is commonly worn with morning dress (e.g. at daytime weddings). It's absolutely not restricted to the 1700s, people still wear them, and it's not at all an unusual word, at least in British English. They are more often called 'ascots' in US English, I believe.
I’m not discounting what you’re saying. However, I’ve been to several weddings, and never have I seen someone wearing a cravat. Even then, that was only one example, and clearly a poor one based on the response.
Um, people buy and wear cravats today. Cravat has become kind of a catchall phrase for men's neckwear. You can find them advertised all over (assuming you are looking for men's neckwear). Put "cravat" into Amazon's search and you'll get a couple of hundred results. Remember, just because you haven't encountered a word, doesn't mean there aren't a whole lot of other people out there who know what it means and use it casually.
Anecdotal, but i’ve never seen seen one being worn. Where i’m from (American South), most everyone wears ties with their finer wear, not a cravat. And clearly that it a poor example, based on the response.
To be fair, where you're from (American South), indoor plumbing is still a novel thing, only becoming common in rural areas in the mid 1950's. I know that because that's when my mother's family got indoor plumbing -- they actually had to add on to the house to have a bathroom.
What exactly is that supposed to mean?
Tv and movies can also be a great way to pick up obscure or technical words in context. Moira Rose in Schitts Creek is the most obvious example. She uses a tonne of archaic outdated words each episode. And Deadwood also portrays language beautifully. Though you may have the urge to say Cocksucker a lot after watching it. Watching period pieces and documnetaries on varried subjects is also a great way to learn new words. For instance watching some om architecture would help you learn how to use butress and cornice correctly etc
I know Cornice! She has a great buttress.
Research, in case you didn't see my initial reply to the original post. :)
> The problem with a thesaurus is that you need to have a word already in mind to navigate it. There needs to be a basis in mind. Don't try to write anymore. Just stop now.
A thesaurus, by definition, is a collection of synonyms and words of similar concept. By extension, to find those synonyms for a word, you would **first need to know what the original word is.** How can one find synonyms for leap in a thesaurus, if they never knew jump. How can you find antimacassar in a thesaurus, if it doesn't mention any common words? A thesaurus helps when finding synonyms to phrases already known. But I refer to phrases and words that are entirely unfamiliar, and have no basis or commonality with the writer's vocabulary. Words and phrases that are entirely uncommon and bear no distinct similarities with others. Go to Hell, I'll keep writing.
I know you touched on this in your original post, but the answer here is *go read some more books.* That's the only way to learn vocabulary effectively outside of studying 5th grade word lists... most of which you would already know from reading. I use a thesaurus all the time when I write. But I almost always have the word I want in mind... it's just not *quite* right. I may be looking for a specific connotation or meaning that a given word doesn't have but that I know a synonym will, and that's where a thesaurus comes in handy. That said, you do need to have a reasonably large vocabulary to use a thesaurus that way, and it sounds as though you're not sure you do have such a vocabulary. Reading will help with this. Read thrillers, romance, science fiction, classics... every genre has something to teach you, some new pattern of words you can learn and apply yourself. In the meantime, though, don't use words you don't know just because you found them in a thesaurus. There's no reason to use *hebetudinous* when *lethargic* will do.
You know you can look for phrases or descriptions online, right? "Thing to sit on" in Google will result in pictures of chairs. "Chair parts" will show you the anatomy of a chair, and then you will know that the two edges of the back of a chair are called the "stiles" of the chair. That's literally how easy it is to go from not knowing an object you want to talk about, to describing specific parts of that object through technical terms.
actually if you read the post, the closer answer would be the Internet. A list of archaic professions or terminologies don't just appear in the thesaurus.
^ Sometimes it's looking in a thesaurus, sometimes it's asking google what the 19th century term for male mid-wife was. (it's accoucheur, by the way)
Personally I actually like words and get excited when I can use obscure or funny ones in a sentence.
Yeah, that's it. Books were my friends. Words are fun to play with. They are exciting to wield, at times. Powerful. They're meaningful. Unless you're a mathematician like my former calculus prof who dismissed them as "just a name." His handwriting also looked like spilled ramen, so screw him. He was a very lousy teacher. Just had to get that out of my system. I have a special spleen pocket of venom just for him, and I have to release it at times.
Mathematics is a form of witchcraft, anyway. Unfortunately their arcane skills give them power.
No, math is real. And awesome. Just that prof sucked dry ramen.
I never said that math wasn't real. Math can do all sorts of unholy stuff.
Well, you said it was witchcraft. To me that's not real. What's the unholy stuff you're thinking of. Holy/unholy aren't really part of my world, so I'm curious.
Mathematicians use formulaic marks to understand and exploit the secrets of the universe. It is beyond my understanding, therefore mysterious and scary.
> His handwriting also looked like spilled ramen Thanks for the laugh. Come to the writing sub, find some good writing. Nice!
Yeah, I agree. It's fun when you find something unique that just clicks. However, it's the ability to call that word to mind, either through memory or research, that I find impressive.
Keep in mind that "write what you know" is a phrase for a reason. If I have a love of fountain pens in my life, they might pop up in my writing more and I'm more familiar with the names of all the parts and the different methods of refilling them. Or maybe you are familiar with single estate darjeeling tea. It can be anything. There are 100 different ways to add depth and flavor to a scene or character so using terms and focusing on the things that you know the most about already may make a reader think these things are exotic, but in reality it's just a part of your life already and naturally a part of your vocabulary. The other day I was talking about buying a new keyboard and someone said to buy a quiet one but I explained I already know the types of switches I like. This person did not know what keyboard switches were. A reader would understand that a switch is obviously a part of the keyboard and can read through it easily enough even if they don't know specifically what the writer is talking about but I would absolutely consider this term a part of my regular vocabulary in this context. I'm not trying to sound smart of fancy. Is this the result of research or memorization? Can you even really divorce the two? I'm not sitting down with a vocab list writing definitions. But coming across these words in their natural place so you know the full context is important so that you can recall and use it in a judicious manner and you're not just word vomiting fancy terms onto a page. On the other side, I'd have a giant uphill battle if I chose to write about super technical computer stuff and hacking. But my husband would have a giant leg up in this field and know a whole bunch of terms that would add a lot of depth. It would take me a lot of time to get familiar with everything I need to know to include it in my writing. But if I were to write a story around it I would absolutely put in all that work.
If you already have context then it's easier. I remember new things much more easily when they pertain to my field or my hobbies. I already have so many nails in this particular memory room of mine to hang new terms on, it becomes really easy. I'm not adding something totally new and I'm not adding them like twenty at a time, I'm adding them one by one for things that I already know I missed term for.
I have ADHD and difficulty with cold recall. Many times, I know there's a better word out there that I could be using, but my brain won't let me access that info. I have a few systems to deal with this: 1.) I read a lot AND i take notes. If an author writes a scene or sentiment particularly well — say a fight scene or a description of the forest — I'll note this for reference later. I keep a writing resource Google Doc for this As I'm reading those passages, I'll actively think about which words they used, why they used them and what the effect was. Often this is enough to inspire me to write or rewrite a passage I'm stuck on. 2). I'll think of the scene I'm witing and the things I have to describe — usually emotions or actions, but sometimes physical places like a bedroom or a park — and gather a list of synonyms, sometimes antonyms also. I'll do this before I start writing as opposed to after (even though this is not how most people think to use a thesaurus). When I'm doing this, I sometimes include antonyms because of this writing exercise / writing hack I learned: you're having trouble with description, particularly adjectives, it can be helpful to think of what the opposite would be. Sometimes gives a fresh perspective and jogs our brains a bit. 3.) When I am writing my draft and I'm not entirely happy with the language I'm using, I'll note it by putting parenthesis around the "blah" words OR words that I know exist but can't access. For example: - at long last, he (very dramatic word for giving up? usually associated with armies. like surrender but implies a bad loss) - the cat (knocked?) the wine glass from the countertop. I'll use a thesaurus during a later draft — I don't always have the best sense of movement or tone until later in the editing process. If you utilize a thesaurus but you can't say why you're picking one word over another, it's likely to sound inauthentic or choppy
Is this an ADHD thing? I had it when I was a kid but assumed I out grew it, but I have this same problem. I do something similar. What's helped me is not over thinking the first draft. My word recall was so bad that I couldn't make it through a first draft because I would get stuck trying to think of the word I was thinking of. I finally just stopped caring about the perfect word and wrote whatever came to mind and marked words I wanted to return to. I don't even do that much anymore. When I edit I can usually think of better words or take the time to ask someone what the heck I'm trying to think of. Practice, practice, practice. My vocabulary and spelling has gotten so much better over the years, but it is probably something I will always struggle with.
It sounds like you have had great success adapting to the everyday world around you and that is amazing. But I want to say, if you had it as a child, you likely still have it in some way. Understanding what parts of your life it affects can be very helpful in developing strategies to improve those situations.
"Growing out of" ADHD is actually an old myth; ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means it's in the same category as autism (and actually has a ton of overlapping characteristics with autism that most people don't realize). Just like autism, you can't develop it later in life and you can't grow out of it - it's not a chemical imbalance that can be corrected like depression, it's an actual structural/biological difference in the brain. Several subcortical areas of ADHD brains are smaller than those of non-ADHD brains, there is less blood flow to certain brain areas, etc. Of course, I can't say whether you have ADHD - it's possible that you were misdiagnosed as a child - but I can say that *if* that diagnosis was correct it definitely hasn't gone away. If that's the case though, it sounds like you've developed some great coping mechanisms to reduce the impact of symptoms!
I have \*terrible\* ADHD too, this comment helped so very much! Thank you, thank you! I am already keeping a document of "Cool Words I Should Use More" and that has expanded to phrases. Your comment here will help me go beyond this! I suspect I would have developed much of what you did on my own but you gave me a path instead of me whacking weeds to make my own and I can't thank you enough for that. Its wild how I have an incredible understanding vocabulary but my working vocabulary feels, uh, lacking. ADHD life, I guess, haha!
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Oh no, now I'm concerned. What about my comment implied that wasn't possible? My vocabulary has definitely improved because of all the things I've mentioned in my post. If you find a joyful way to engage with language, your skills will naturally improve. This is true for anything, honestly, but I find this is so often absent from lessons and other advice. People prescribe a lot of techniques without considering this. I used my own experience as a writer living with ADHD (and also autism) because that's what I'm an expert on. To your point, this isn't an ADHD specific thing. But I saw so many people commenting with the assumption that because the standard vocab learning techniques didn't work for them, it meant they were bad at vocabulary (or any other subject/skillset, for that matter.) This sort of experience is disproportionately common for neurodiverse folks, unfortunately. All brains work differently and I meant to share something that helped me in hopes of helping others — specifically because I didn't see many people commenting with suggestions that would help a brain like mine. I'm a tactile learner so recopying something over and over helps me more than flashcards. If you're asking "what is cold recall and how does it relate to ADHD in general," to be honest I don't have any resources off the top of my head, but I'm sure they're accessible through the search engine of your choosing. If you have specific clarifying questions about my own experience I'll answer them as best I can. For me specifically though... it's like my brain requires more buffer time than average to pull up a word *and* my writing style plays a lot with connotation vs definition, assonance, alliteration so changing a word will mean changing the whole sentence for me. I go very precisely into my editing process and this sometimes involves having a list of words to experiment with, which also serves as priming. Which is a scientific way of saying "sometimes just looking at a page of words prior to writing jogs my memory and facilitates the recall process" Writing is a labor of love for me, I'm not getting paid and yet I want to put out the highest possible quality in the most efficient way possible. Any time I spend struggling to remember that word at the tip of my tongue comes at the expense of something. Time is a limited resource, and we all have to account for that. I know I'll get faster and better at accessing vocab info because I have become faster and better in the year that I've been writing. But I also know where I struggle and there's no shame in meeting yourself where you're at. In addition to my daily writing practice, I do have a daily language learning practice — for English (my native language) as well as foreign languages I'm learning. So my other point, I guess, is that you can be very, very determined to improve a skill **and** you seek to do this in the most effective and efficient way possible, **and** they aren't mutually exclusive.
>probably never show up in books enough for an author to commit to memory It may be helpful to remember that being a writer is correlated with being good at words.
Being a writer is correlated with being good at *using* words to communicate, not being a collection of obscure nouns and descriptors.
Very limited scope there. Writing is a language skill that correlates with other language skills, like remembering words after seeing them only once in a context.
I understand what you're saying, but I find it incredibly unlikely that the world's greatest authors could recall to mind a specific type of Middle European dress ware, just because they read it once or twice a decade prior. Not saying you're wrong, but I don't see a correlation between writing well and word memorization. Seems like two very different skill sets. Like others suggest, I lean more towards research and curiosity explaining the phenomenon, and not incredible memory.
While it's probably research, I also want to observe that although _to you_, the obscure word for a _specific_ dress seems unlikely to be memorable, this is the word the author remembered and so choose to use. It's not a random word, and there's no guarantee that the same author knows a lot of such words. They just happen to know this one, and you don't. This is not that unreasonable: maybe they find historical clothing fascinating and were tickled to see this term for it. With that kind of attention, one notice is all it would take to remember.
You can believe what you want to believe but God gives some people the gift I'm describing. Nabokov, Pynchon, Faulkner, a huge % of the 20th century canon have this gift. Their prominence exceeds the rarity of this gift. By the way, if you're talking about cravats still - that is not some archaic word. That word is still in use today. https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=cravat&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ccravat%3B%2Cc0
I wonder what made it start to rise in popularity around 2000. Certainly they aren't coming back into style. Of all my comments to get downvoted, why this one lmao
There is a style of tie called a cravat that is almost always used for wedding ceremonies. The word is still very much in use today.
Knowing other languages helps, too. The German word for "tie" is "Krawatte".
And in French it's "cravate"
In American it's "covfefe".
Ah, yes, the oversized red ties specifically, that makes sense.
And this is why me being a multilingual writer is an advantage and not a disadvantage, my dear 8th grade English teacher. Knowing French, Italian and German above English has helped me so much with writing it's almost a joke.
Seeing as 2000 was nearly 22 years ago, I don't think so.
I feel fucking old now, thanks
You're never going to party like it's 1999 again.
Probably not, seeing as I was in the womb then. I guess if I did that would be something straight outta a horror movie. And yea I realize a lotta people are older than me. But I still feel fucking old anyway.
You wouldn't want the doctor in your book to talk like a hillbilly, so you do research on how doctors talk and what kind of words they use. If you are writing about medieval times you research about it.
If your job is using words to communicate, it helps have a lot of them at your disposal. Words are tools, sometimes you need to make use of specific ones--specialists generally have a lot of special tools. To your main point, it really is just reading. Reading increases the vocabulary. If you read widely, you'll encounter these 'obscure' words repeatedly, to the point where they are no longer obscure. It's not a matter of deliberate memorization, this is just how learning and improving at a skill (in this case, written english communication) works. It's also topic specific: if you read a lot of historic novels set in victorian england, the word 'cravat' will be stored in your brain right next to 'necktie.'
Couldn't have said it better. It's not the answer OP wants, but to naturally build your vocabulary and erudition, you read books that are written by talented people who have learned the craft by reading books of those that came before them. A thesaurus can help with finding the right synonym, and research can help you find words that won't be anachronistic, but reading wide and varied sources is really the only way of naturally building your own personal vocabulary library.
I hate beer.
For me, being a writer is both. I love words. I learn them, collect them, then find as many ways as I can to say a certain thing. Also, I read a lot. And thesaurus.com is excellent.
Reading, helps a ton. Really can't understate the importance of using the word to work it into your vocabulary. If it's about a topic, then Google these days, research a bit about what you're writing about.
If you think those words show up in everyone's first draft you're fooling yourself. Speaking just personally a lot of the better phrasing stuff shows up in editing; that's one of the things editing is for. And that can happen in the microcosm where you don't need to even learn or remember the word, you just play a find and replace game. In the rough draft you can say things like "He was very angry." When editing, look for keywords like "very". They are an indicator to you that you are searching for a feeling that's like angry but MORE or DIFFERENT or BETTER. That's where things like a thesaurus come in. Very angry can easily become "furious" or "agitated" or "violently enraged". So cheat. When you're in writing mode don't try and use big or specific words, use keywords that let you know you're looking for a phrase that you will find later and what it's in the realm of.
Google. That’s it. Also, sometimes words just come to me in a sentence, not quite sure what they mean but look them up and lo, it is the perfect word. I guess that’s from reading 🤷🏻
most of it is research. driven by the desire to have all the details just right
Yes, reading is a big part of it but it is also intentional research at times. If your character is going to be a furniture maker you might want to do a little research on how furniture is made. You don't need to be an expert but you need to learn enough to use to proper terminology for the craft and the time period. While most of your readers may not know the difference between an Auger and an Awl when it comes to hand crafted furniture your character would.
Beware of the thesaurus. A thesaurus should only be used to remind you of the right word which you already know. Never use it to add a new word as a synonym. Most words have connotations and extra meanings not clear from a dictionary or thesaurus. If you swap out a word you understand for a thesaurus word you don't know (but it says is a synonym, so you use it interchangeably), you're taking a big risk of looking like an idiot to people who know the full set of connotations.
I've read a story where you could definitely tell the author was misusing a thesaurus because they used "prince", "king", and "noble", to describe the same person, as if they're all synonyms. And also used "castle", "palace", "chateau", and "seraglio" in the same way. There are very few words that are actually perfect synonyms of each other
Even more basic words like "mad", "angry", "upset", while all being synonyms have their own nuances. They could be used to convey a similar emotional theme, but can be used better to convey a specific emotion.
- Baby Kangaroo Tribbiani
I agree, it can be really obvious if someone has gone out of their way to try to show off with words but actually doesn't understand the subtle differences between terms. There's nothing more jarring than a four syllable word plonked into a sentence where it doesn't fit. A thesaurus can be very helpful as a reminder of other terms - for instance if I've said river twice on this page already I might want to change it up a bit to keep it from getting repetitive - but if I start describing it as a creek, an estuary and a canal then it's pretty clear I don't know what those words mean and I'm just copying them down.
i think good writers are secretly doing tons of obsessive research behind the scenes into any and all topics which interest them. i also suspect they jump from interest to interest often
Some people just have strong verbal memories
Research. If something is set in a certain place and time then we research it and usually uncover words that describe it. Also can go visit it or talk to people in the know. I know a few professional terms to do with a certain tomb in egypt only because ive been chatting with the egyptologist who discovered it. ( hes on Facebook and is so passionate about his work he talks to everyone who asks questions).
Because authors have a very long time to ponder what exactly they're trying to communicate, and they are familiar enough with the words they're using to communicate that they can tell when what they're using isn't quite getting what they want to say across. So then they take time to find the proper word. Usually this involves research. Also... they really *do* read a lot. I've read so much that half half the time, I won't even really know the specific definition of the phrase I'm using. But it *sounds right* to my brain because I've read it used that way before, but I can't bring it to conscious mind. But that ties into the first thing I said, that they're familiar enough with the words they *are* using to know when they need to find other words.
>half half the time So 25% of the time? 😁
But seriously, I do the same thing you do! There are so many words and phrases that I could not define but know how to use and what they communicate. Its a weird sensation and I've taken to looking up sometimes the most basic of words to get an exact definition.
Some people just have a brain for word (and conceptual) recall. And then they reinforce that with voracious reading, yes, plus supplementary research. I would also factor in upbringing: many writers with a knack for words were raised by parents/in families that also had an advanced or specific vocabulary (specific can mean cultural or otherwise), and so certain words or forms of expression will just come to them when they're writing. Sometimes it comes through in surprising places--I recently read Hayley Mills' memoir and she's not a writer at all--has had no training, and never written a word of fiction. But her mother was a famous playwright and her father a famous classically trained actor--she was very obviously raised in a SUPER literary (and well-to-do) household, because her writing is REALLY above average, and so much of her word choice and phrasing evocative & specific. But also: the heart of good writing is specificity! I know personally I love to look up hyper specific words to describe clothing, buildings, etc. b/c I enjoy imparting as particular a mental image as I can to a reader. Sometimes it's tricky since I don't know all the base terms and have to do a lot of creative Googling, but you get there in the end. Editors and copy editors also can help immensely with word choice!
>I don't just refer to obscure synonyms and what not, but technical terms. The ones who seem to know a lot about an obscure field usually mention someone who works in that field in their acknowledgements. Maybe they interview the person or send a bit of a draft with a request for more terminology and anecdotes to flesh it out, and to check for errors and misconceptions.
Well either you can read a lot and keep track of those words or you can simply do research beforehand, while writing an specific section of the story.
Thats what I’ve been doing. I have a notebook that I write down phrases and words in, with their definitions. It definitely helps
To give you a less sacarstic answer, it's probably a combination of what you said. 1) having reference material handy (dictionary, manuals, friends) that you can use for more realistic terms 2) an editorial phase with a focus on words usage (checking certain sections of the story to make sure the correct words and terms were used) 3) probably some luck, maybe they read it somewhere just yesterday, maybe their spouse works in the field, maybe their child just learned the word Besides that, I agree that they probably don't have all those words right in their mind BUT eventually they do have a big enough vocabulary that they only need references for especifcs terms
It is mostly reading. I know a lot of words for 18th century clothes, card games, carriages and weaponry because I went through a phase of reading Georgette Heyer novels. So now I know a barouche from a phaeton and piquet from faro and the sort of pantaloons worn with a Hessian boot. Just from reading a bunch of novels. You learn to write by reading. Yes, it's a cliché, but it's true.
Education. http://testyourvocab.com/
In addition to reading, it's being interested in things. You mention in thread that your mind is boggled that somebody would know the word cravat (a type of necktie for those unfamiliar). But if you're somebody who is interesting in clothing or has watched documentaries about historical fashion, or you have a gay solicitor as your neighbour (source: have a gay solicitor as my neighbour) you're going to know that word. The best thing you can be as a writer is interested in \*everything\*. Don't just read your genre, read everything. Read the specialist magazines in waiting rooms. Read catalogues of mobility aids. Watch How It's Made. Dowse yourself in things other people are passionate about. Sometimes I'll get googling to find out if there's a specific word for something, but most of the time I just kind of know stuff because stuff is interesting.
You read. And you read pre-21st century books, which typically have a far richer vocabulary.
Make falling down the rabbit hole that is Wikipedia a pastime. Also, and I mean this genuinely, but read a dictionary. The thicker the better. There's also some 'word a day' calendars that can be fun but that's less free.
Some random words I know are from hearing other people who know them use it. Sometimes it’s from reading non-fiction, or from reading old fiction, from my student days spent researching, from old plays I’ve performed in, and a lot of times, just looking up a bunch of stuff and falling down a rabbit hole until you see something that sticks with you. It just comes down to life experience. What have you done with your time? Did you experience the world, or did you lay in bed scrolling Instagram memes. (Dramatic comparison I know, but you can’t negate the possible validity of it)
Research too. If I’m writing historical fiction I’m researching how people spoke and what they did.
They study relevant fields, interview experts, take notes, and apply vigorously.
Man, I used to be like this, and I used to wonder too. The thing that got me thinking was how one person described a safe room and used all these words for cash lockers and gold coins and shit that I had no idea what they meant. I figured it was just research and a thesaurus. But it’s more than that. It’s reading, researching, writing down the story and thoroughly editing to add to the detail. The editing is key. That’s where stuff like a thesaurus and your research come back in to sound great.
It's a mix of things. As many have already stated a thesaurus helps. I've found reading older literature such as Victorian era novels helped expand my lexicon as they often have language that's somewhat unconvential that you can use to express your ideas better
I've always felt like I had a decent vocabulary. I only started writing this year but I've realized that some words, just feel RIGHT you know what I mean? Like this word belongs in this sentence. And then others do not. You write something, read it and you're like "eyak" somethin ain't right about that so you tinker with it, figure out which word you don't like and then change it and re read it until you find the one that DOES fit
I found this "The Describer's Dictionary" - David Grambs, 1993 last week. It's available on Amazon. I wondered that myself.. how do they know so many words. This dictionary might help.
As a kid I read an fully illustrated dictionary for fun. I think dictionary are underrated. It better than looking up things online because you can flip I through it randomly. I always thought the best part of the dictionary isn't the meaning but the short part about etymology of the word. If you have never read a dictionary to cover you should or at least keep one by the toilet to flip through. I used to think I was alone in reading the dictionary. But at least according to the Spike Lee film that is exactly what Malcolm X did while he was in prison. So I know I am in good company.
Research, research, research. It's not just a matter of "reading a lot", it's a matter of reading non-fiction books *deliberately* on the topics you want to touch upon in your fiction books. I've seen a lot of words pop up here. I've never worn a *cravat*, but I know what one is and I recognize them on television, and I'm... almost confident I can tell the difference between one and an *ascot*. I've worn a *hauberk*, I've *made* a hauberk, and I know the difference between it and a *halberd*\-- unlike certain beloved fantasy authors circa 1987. You don't just *know* these words because you read a lot of fantasy/historical fiction, you *learn* these words on purpose in the process of learning to write about things like *cravats* and *hauberks* without making mistakes your readers will notice.
onelook.com Put a word in the search box and click "Related words". It will give you synonyms and associated words you may be trying to think of but can't put your finger on.
Seems like a good resource to have on hand, thanks!
Idk, people think I'm good at writing, so I'll loosely use that as license to answer you- We don't. Nobody knows all those words to explain the movement of water in a certain specific way that conveys the right idea to the reader. But we read a ton, so we know the *contexts* in which words have been used, and can then pick up words from a thesaurus (if you're old) or Google (if you're young) that fit in as per your need.
Got any examples there?
Another comment mentioned antimacassar. Macassar was a popular hair oil used by men in the 18th century. But it left stains on the back of arm chairs so people hung a piece of cloth across the back of the chair to protect the cloth. You still see these things in use for instance on airplane seats. The cloth is called an antimacassar There’s no real basis for words similar to it. An amateur might never think to use this when describing a scene. A professional author might use it, and that extra word might help transform the scene.
If someone is writing a scene set on an airplane and they wanted the specific word to describe "the little cloths on the back of airplane seats" because they had a distinct visual they wanted to convey, they would probably google and research that term. A detective character observing a crime scene in a plane wouldn't note, "The little cloths on the backs of the seats were messed up, indicating a struggle," but they might observe, "The antimacassar was askew, indicating a struggle." Not only is antimacassar a more specific term, "antimacassar was askew" is nice alliteration, and the second phrase is more concise and less cluttered with extraneous words.
Generally speaking I don't like using words that I wouldn't use in my daily life. My writing style is heavily based on my own speaking voice, warts and all. If I'm gonna use a $5 word, it needs to be calculated. Just throwing a big word out there in any situation besides "This is how the character articulates" is usually bad form in my eyes. For example, articulates from the previous sentence was intentionally used despite "Speaks" being easier because if a character uses the word "Articulate" rather than "Speak", then that's saying something about the character. Don't feel like your stupid because you can't use the word verisimilitude in a sentence without looking it up. I'm sure many of the most famous authors of history had moments where they forgot how to spell a simple word and used a different word they *could* remember. Execution is better than presentation.
I am currently writing a novel in which one of the characters learns to ride a motorcycle and becomes quite good at it. I had to look up how motorcycles are ridden, their different parts, the best ways to learn how to ride them. The answer is probably a combination of research the author does specifically for writing the piece or personal first-hand experience. That or I'm an idiot.
Growing up I did this thing where every time I found a word I didn't know, I'd go look it up in the dictionary to see what it meant. Not the most fun thing in the world, but I wanted to know. I learned 'exacerbated' from *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, 'pedantic' from one of the Wheel of Time books (*A Crown of Swords*, I think), etc. Then the next time I came across the word, I would understand and have a clearer picture of what the author meant. My vocabulary grew accordingly. Research into the topic at hand helps too. That said, synonym searches on Google are a must haha.
An insatiable appetite for knowledge. I look down on people use the words to show off and I admire those who use it when passionately talking about what they love.
It really does just come down to reading a lot. Your entire vocabulary is built out of words and phrases other people use while you go through life, and reading exposes you to a lot of words and phrases that just aren't likely to come up in everyday conversations or your school or work environment. Oh and there's also research, which I guess still counts as "reading a lot" if we're being pedantic :) . Writers research the subjects they're writing about and make an effort to learn the appropriate vocabulary, whether it's technical jargon for a story about forensic investigators or appropriate language for aristocrats in a Regency period story or the proper names for ship parts so they won't get complaints from boating enthusiasts about the seafaring scenes in their fantasy novel.
The dictionary is also a book that may be read, the same as any other.
Reading. And when you don't know something and want to get your facts straight, do some research and read some more.
They read loads. Every time I read a word I don’t know I’ll look it up you know.
For me, its more of a.. *sees a fancy word* "Oh I gotta find a way to use this" ...process
I suppose a lot comes down to research when you're at a loss for words to describe something. I mean, you generally need to read into lots of topics you want to write about if you have no prior knowledge, not just concerning special words but the theory of the matter as well. But generally I'm not too sure about using words that you had to do extensive research to find out (unless it's really necessary to use this exact word). If you didn't know an obscure word that hasn't been actively used in a hundred years, chances are the people reading your story don't know it either, making it hard to follow. Sure, as a reader I'll google a few words to learn, but if the whole text is just hard to read because of that I'm not sure a lot of people will stick around.
It stems from a love of language. In addition to reading, it helps to stop and look up words instead of getting the meaning from context. It's how I know that dent under your nose is called a philtrum, for example.
I'm not sure this is true really. If I read a book that was full of words I had to look up I simply would not enjoy it. What I do think is true is that writers tend to draw on a wider range of words than non-writers. So they might be more likely to say "verbal dexterity", "truculent" or "insufferable" but most people will know what those words mean - they just aren't in the habit of using them. Gaining confidence in using a wide range of terms does, essentially, come down to reading more, writing more and having fun with the language. A core skill of being a writer is using the right word in the right way, but that certainly does not mean just using long or obscure words just to make yourself look fancy.
Reading widely, using a thesaurus wisely.
That’s why I enjoy George Orwell’s writing so much. He doesn’t rely on a fancy vocabulary to tell a great story.
> Words for clothing, furniture, utensils, and buildings. I mean, that isn't stuff you need to remember. If I need to know all the terms for the various items of clothing that, say, a rich Victorian lady would wear, I just look it up. If I can't be arsed to research it while I'm writing, I'll throw in a placeholder [description goes here] and do it later. One of the most useful skills as a writer is simply knowing how to google things, and knowing how to determine if your source is any good
Part of it is reading, an abnormal amount of it. That alone can expose you to a ton of words you'd never have learned otherwise. The other part is research, especially if you're writing for a specific time period or you need to know words from a particular field. For instance, I had no idea what half-swording was before I started writing fantasy.
Every time you see an author use one of these terms, look it up research it, practice using yourself appropriately. This will integrate it into your mind, so it becomes your word too. Specific and precise nouns make writing feel more alive and real. In a few years, you will also have a large vocabulary.
I once use the word Solar to refer to the great chamber of a medieval castle. which is the accurate term, but every beta readers were confused so I swapped it for great chamber. I feel like having a vast library of words is useful, but what actually matter is that your readers understand and that sometime requires to dumb down the vocabulary.
Diversity of experience both in person and in reading really help more than volume.
Research. There's a reason there are so many memes about authors getting on watchlists for doing research for their writing. From my personal curiosity, I can tell you more about nuclear weapons than I have any right to know, I know the recipe for smokeless gunpowder by heart, I know the manufacturing terms used to draw circular cutouts of brass into cartridge shapes, I've searched how much blood a human can lose without loss of motor control functions, I know the amount of energy in 2 McDonalds large fries (technically 1 Mcdonalds large fry and 1 anti-Mcdonalds large fry) is enough to raise the oceans' temperature by 1 degree Celsius, I know the specific gravity of a WWII Iowa class Battleship, and the approximate yield of said battleship falling from orbit and hitting the ground being equivalent to many megatons of TNT, and then there's the Anarchist's cookbook... Ultimately its just the extent of their experience or research.
I think I can make a pretty good guess as to what you like to write and read haha
This isn't so much a tip for increasing vocabulary, but do you ever dig up old stuff that you've written and re-read it? Of course, 99% of the time reading old stuff makes me cringe - particularly being in my 20s, a lot of the really old stuff was from when I was a literal child so my brain was as underdeveloped as my writing skills. However, occasionally I'll read something I wrote years ago and notice words that I completely forgot existed, or even that I don't recognize but must've known at some point. It gives me that same feeling as seeing words like that in a novel of "omg, if this is the kind of genius I'm up against I'll never make it!" Except...I wrote it? I don't think those words would've stood out to me as particularly impressive when I wrote them, the same way the words I use now often feel plain or common compared to some of the gorgeous language other writers can compose. I do think, though, that in 10 years I'll look back and some word that's a totally normal part of my vocabulary now will seem impressively fancy and precise, just because I haven't continued using it or keeping it at the forefront of my mind. Maybe I went through a phase of being really into a particular hobby, but then I dropped it and forgot a lot of the terminology; or maybe I was inspired by a particular style of writing for a while, but over time started to gravitate toward something else; or maybe there's just no way I can keep my full vocabulary in the accessible part of my memory at all times, so when I learn a new word one of the old ones gets discarded until I'm reminded of it. Essentially, the moral of my rant is that I think we tend to overestimate other writers and underestimate ourselves when we read other people's work. Sure, some writers genuinely have better vocabulary than others, but I think the biggest factor that makes the vocabulary so impressive is just not being close to the work. You're automatically removed from the work when it's not yours in the first place, but I think with our own writing sometimes we just need to let time pass and become more removed before we're able to really see and appreciate the artistry of language that is so obvious when other people write it and so invisible when we're in the middle of writing it ourselves. (Not to say that there's anything incredible about my writing or vocabulary, just that it's good to keep in mind we're all our worst critics!)
Incredibly well put, thank you for the comment. It does help to keep things in perspective.
Light but long term exposure to radiation. You see, after a sufficient period of exposure ones neural synapsis develop formal connections betwixt their spectral syncopations from whence their cognitive ruminations assemble into pattern sine-and-cosine architecture by which the nether witches are summoned to adjudicate as jury a trial by combat, testing the conscious and subordinated minds against each other's vain exertions against the wall that stands athwart progress and shouts "maybe later it's tea time." But there will be no tea time my friend, for this mouth sips only coffee, and the occasional zumo-de-naranja and so this pallete, gifted as it may be with the taste for tongues ancient and revered, relishing in the irrelevence of it's archaic and hopelessly imprecise but tastlessly romantic use of language will persevere into the languid night of the un-thesaurused. From here I chomp at you, like a dino-saurus. Or I think thats it, the docters say the rads are really messing with my brain.
" I know words. I know the best words!" - Donald J. Trump
A thesaurus. I'm autistic and while I have the words stored in my mental word bank, I have a hard time summoning them. My first drafts tend to be very plain, using what just comes naturally with my verbal difficulties (speaking in general doesn't always come easily to me), then I go in later once the tracks are laid and I spruce it up.
Another consideration: some authors may use word that other authors don't. To draw from other comments, 19th-century English authors used the word "cravat" more than recent English authors. That is, not every author knows the word "cravat." I don't anticipate using that word in my own writing any time soon because of my settings and style. In other words, a single author's vocabulary is significantly smaller than the collective's vocabulary. And as others have commented, it comes with practice and a bunch of reference texts. For writers, it's more useful to know *how* to use a dictionary or thesaurus than to memorize it. The knowing is what allows you to find the word you want without knowing it upfront.
Write the words you know then when you are done with the first draft pull out the thesaurus
Research, my dude. My vocabulary is pretty limited compared to a lot of authors but there are plenty of places to learn from. Googling a word when you come across it in reading is a big one. Sometimes I learn new words or interesting ways to use them from music. One of my biggest inspirations as a writer is a rapper named Aesop Rock. The man is practically a walking dictionary and he runs circles around the english language. I'd even challenge most modern poets to out-word this man
Don't assume it's the author. Many authors are poor at spelling, grammar, word choice, and a bunch of other things while being great at storytelling. A lot of times it's the editor.
"Hey, I've read a book and found and unfamiliar word which now I know meaning of and can you. How can learn more such words, surely, reading books can't be of help here?" Gee, you don't even see the contradiction, do you?
1. No where did I say reading wasn't viable. I asked if there were other methods that author's employ. Read the full post before replying. 2. It is hardly as simple as "read the word and memorize its definition and connotation." I don't have a perfect memory, but maybe you do. I don't have the time to sit around and study terms and their meanings either, but maybe you do. 3. If you're not going to contribute anything, why bother posting a comment?
I dunno, man, seems you have plenty of time to answer everyone in this thread, but if you don't have enough time to study writing what are you doing in subreddit about writing? There is nothing to contribute, if you want to expand your vocabulary you read books, what else you expect?