Opinions?

[queenoftheskies]

I receive a weekly e-mail newsletter from Creative Screenwriting. They always have quotes at the top from writers and screenwriters.

I love the quotes. There have been some good ones.

One of the quotes in today's newsletter was from Stephen King.

"Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word.
There are no exceptions to this rule."
– Stephen King

I often see writers using big, sophisticated words.

I often compare myself to them and think my writing is too simple and unsophisticated.

Am I stupid? I don't think so. I have a college degree. Do I know big words? Yes. And, I know how to use them. I just tend to write in a pretty straight-forward manner. No convoluted phrases. No purple prose.

So, it's interesting to me to see a quote like that from Stephen King, someone who is such a big name writer.

How do you folks feel about it? What does that quote mean to you?

Comments

[canadiansuzanne.livejournal.com]

I agree with Mr. King. I think the reason that his writing is so popular is because it's approachable, easy to read, and resonates with people. You don't have to think too hard, or look up words, when you read a Stephen King book. Quite the opposite, you're usually so into the story that you can't stop.

That's my two cents.

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, that's a great point, being drawn into the story.

Thanks!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I think that it's generally a bad idea to use words the writer has found in a thesaurus but does not otherwise know, because synonyms are rarely exact. "Carnelian" is not the same color as "crimson," and using them both when you mean "red" if you don't know the connotations of each is a bad, bad idea.

But if you mean crimson, there's nothing wrong with saying crimson. There's even nothing wrong with carnelian where appropriate -- it's just that appropriate is a lot more limited, in my opinion, with the "azhure" and "verdant" style of words.

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

I think it's never a good idea to say that something has "no exceptions."

I use a thesaurus when I have that aggravating feeling of having just the right word on the tip of my tongue...but I can't actually think of it. Sometimes I just need to jog my memory, and flipping through my thesaurus is perfect for that.

[calene.livejournal.com]

I agree. A good thesaurus can be invaluable for find the word you mean to use but just can't recall at the moment.

[aeriedraconia.livejournal.com]

That's when I get into the thesaurus too.

[ckocher.livejournal.com]

I like to look through the thesaurus to just an idea of different words with the same meaning but I don't put the big fancy words into my story where a more common-place word will do. There's nothing more annoying to me, as a reader, to be really into a story, then to come across a word that I don't know the meaning of. It throws me out of the groove and if the author does it repeatedly, it may lead to enough frustration to stop reading the book.

That said, there is a fine line between being snooty and just being educated when it comes to writing. Just don't ask me to point out where that line is... ;-)

[elialshadowpine.livejournal.com]

I think it's bullshit. I often use a thesaurus not to find a word that "sounds" intellectual, but because I can't remember the word I want to use. Tip 'o the tongue and all that. "There are no exceptions," also, bullshit. There's always an exception to every writing rule.

I understand what he's trying to say -- that if you have to hunt for words to make you sound "smart," then you're doing it all wrong -- but I think it's a very poor way to phrase it.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

Maybe he should've used a thesaurus! heh

[lucien-soulban.livejournal.com]

Agreed. The quote sounds impressive, but it's impractical. Frankly, I use the thesaurus when, like Nonnycat, I can't remember the right word, or when I reuse the same word in a sentence and need to find a suitable substitute.
Frankly, writers should also know when the word affects the sentence flow. Using the thesaurus isn't evil if you don't use it blindly.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

I think that writers who use big words like that are just being pretentious. It's the literary equivalent of drinking tea with your pinky raised.

An opinion :)

[stillnotbored.livejournal.com]

There is not a rule anywhere that doesn't have an exception. I'm not fond of pronouncements that you can 'never' do something, especially in writing.

Every writer is different. Each has his or her own style and voice. And I think that the words a writer uses are a reflection of style and voice. Some of us have a more poetic style, and because of that, might use a different vocabulary than a writer with a simpler, more basic style and voice.

Is one better than the other? As long as they each tell a good story, no, they're equal.

When I pull out the thesaurus, I do so to kick start my brain and to avoid cliche. I don't want every cloud to be fluffy, so at times I look for less common alternatives.

I'm also a big fan of using the 'right' word and the strongest word that says exactly what you mean. The first word you think of is not always the right word or the strongest word.

[nycshelly.livejournal.com]

I use Rodale's Synonym Finder more than any other reference book. Some of us are vocabulary-challenged. As with all "rules" of writing, this one is good for some folks, not for others. If you choose your words wisely, it doesn't really matter where you get them from. :)

[java-fiend.livejournal.com]

I think that there are very, very few hard and fast rules. Especially in fiction writing. But in some respects, I do agree with King here. I think that if you have to go hunting for a particular word, it's something that isn't necessarily natural to you. Writing is something of an organic thing, something that flows from within you and if that thing isn't within you, maybe it's not a natural fit for what you're writing. Obviously, we should always be endeavoring to expand our vocabulary and learn new things, but if it's a word foreign to you at the time of the writing, maybe it's not the best choice.

My 2 cents anyway.

[ammepyre.livejournal.com]

I feel like you in that sometimes I look at my writing and think that it comes off as a bit simple...but I think it's just our writing styles and with a good story, it doesn't matter. Obviously Stephen King has made a career out of it...although I'm not a big fan of his writing, so I'm not sure what that says about anything.

However, I look at the thesaurus as just another tool I use during revision. Sometimes I can see what I want in my head, but just can't come up with the right word and looking at synonyms usually ends with a flash light bulb moment of "that's what I want".

I do think if you're going to use a word -- you should have an understanding of how it works and want it means. If you're hunting for a word in order to make yourself look important or "smarter" it'll come through in the writing as stilted, in my opinion.

[hkneale.livejournal.com]

I disagree with him.

I use a thesaurus all the time because I know I want a more suitable word, but it's not in my current active vocabulary.

I see stuff like this all the time with matociquala's blog. She'll put up words that Word doesn't know. They're usually words I've know or have heard of before, but which aren't in my active vocabulary and are therefore not rising to the surface when I need them. Only after I see them do I think I might use them.

Sometimes there's just the right word for something but it's not necessarily the first one I think of.

The thesaurus isn't so much a tool of education but a mnemonic device.

[ryan-howse.livejournal.com]

In the first draft, I'm likely to agree. Write whatever is flowing, because that break will stall you. (Unless you're not flowing anyhow.) On the other hand, no one wants to see the same word four times in a paragraph.

Thesaurus = bad for first drafts, necessary for revisions.

(But then, I can enjoy pretentious writing.)

[kythiaranos.livejournal.com]

It reminds me of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride: "I do not think that word means what you think it means."

From my own experience reading slush, you can tell when a writer is comfortable with the language he/she uses, and when the words have been dredged from a thesaurus to make the story sound more . . . I don't know what they're trying for. Professional? Artistic? Anyway, it doesn't work. King's right--if you can't use it comfortably in regular conversation, don't use it.

[ultharkitty.livejournal.com]

I can see where he's coming from, and it suits his style of writing, but I need my thesaurus, especially when I'm sitting there thinking 'I know there's a word I want, and it'd fit and I can feel the shape of the word, but can I remember what it is? Can I bollocks'. I've got the Oxford Thesaurus on CD ROM and it really helps. I also feel that my vocabulary would cease to grow if I didn't make use of it!

I think there's a balance to be made between using words only 5% of your audience could possibly know, and using the best possible word for the context even if it is slightly obscure. Some authors so seem to use long words just to make the rest of us feel thick though :S

[erneuerung.livejournal.com]

I think that's an excellent quote. Books are more accessible to people when they use language one doesn't have to muck through to get to the actual story.

So good for him and good for you.

I admire people who can make ordinary words beautiful.