As you work on your first assignment I thought I might provide a resource instead of one single interesting word. Here is a list of 10 unusually long and interesting words according to Merriam-Webster. Click to visit the top 10. These all possess a fun story, which I enjoy.
Possessing a strong vocabulary is a useful and common tool in the writer's toolbox and will certainly come in handy while we work on our writing together, but according to Stephen King in On Writing, "Put your vocabulary in the top shelf of your toolbox, and don't make any conscious effort to improve it. One of the really bad things you can do for your writing is to dress up [your] vocabulary, looking for long words because you're maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones. This is like dressing up a household pet in evening clothes. The pet is embarrassed and the person who committed the this act of premeditated cuteness should be even more embarrassed. Make yourself a solemn promise right now that you'll never use "emolument" when you mean "tip" and you'll never say John stopped long enough to perform an act of excretion when you mean John stopped long enough to take a... Remember that the basic rule of vocabulary is use the first word that comes to your mind, if it is appropriate and colorful. If you hesitate and cogitate, you will come up with another word -- of course you will, there's always another word -- but it probably won't be as good as your first one, or as close to what you really mean."
Have fun writing, and thank you for joining me, for participating. It is making my day.
No comments:
Post a Comment