A word in that instance would be considered awkward. You might use a word that either oversteps or fails to meet the idea you hope to present. Awkward, Like That Kid With The Headgear And The Polio Foot No One Perfect Word, But A Chumbucket Of Shitty Onesįor every right word, you have an infinity of wrong ones. Though, according to scholars, “nipplecookie” is in fact the perfect word. But the hunt for a perfect word will drive you into a wide-eyed froth. For every sentence and every story you have a plethora of right words. The Myth Of The Perfect Wordįinding the perfect word is as likely as finding a downy-soft unicorn with a pearlescent horn riding a skateboard made from the bones of your many enemies. Big ideas put as briefly as you are able. Think of it like a different game, perhaps: you’re trying to say as much as possible with as few words as you can muster. Strong, solid word choice allows us to strive for clarity ( hotter) and avoid confusion ( colder). You know that game - “Oh, you’re cold, colder, colder - oh! Now you’re getting hot! Hotter! Hotter still! Sizzling! Yay, you found the blueberry muffin I hid under the radiator two weeks ago!” –? Word choice is like a textual version of that game where you try to bring the reader closer to understanding the story you’re trying to tell. Find the balance between clarity, elegance, and evocation. “The Great Dane fucked the bucket of fried chicken on the roof of Old Man Dongweather’s barn, barking with every thrust” goes the distance and defines reality in a host of ways (most of them rather unpleasant). “The Great Dane fucked the chicken” tells us more. “The dog fucked the chicken” tells us something. Words are like LEGO bricks: the more we add, the more we define the reality of our playset. Get it wrong? The air turns to arsenic, that cocktail makes you puke, this omelet tastes like balls. They are the shots of liquor in our cocktails. Words are the building blocks of what we do.
#ANOTHER WORD FOR THINGS LOOKING BAD SERIES#
Here’s why this matters: because both writing and storytelling comprise, at the most basic level, a series of word choices.