: Re: How do I incorporate Vocabulary in my writing that I already know? I seem to have this problem where I know a lot of words but can't always seem to think them up when I write an article

@Cody1607638

Vote Up Vote Down

I face this issue a lot. I used to worry about misusing a word, but over time I've decided that if the original thought includes the word, then it probably deserves to be used.

Another test to use is: can I express this thought adequately without using the word?

In fiction writing, you can make excuses for sesquipedalianism by claiming that a character would want to use exotic words (and then if you don't use it properly, you can simply say, that was the character misusing the word, not me!).

Often I use a long word and later edit it to use a shorter word. On the other hand, sometimes long words can seem more terse -- also for non-English natives, sometimes longer Latin-based words are easier to understand than seemingly simply verbal phrases.

I wrote an article about building your vocabulary:

Don’t worry about using words incorrectly. It happens. I frequently
discover that I have learned a word partially or even wrongly. Sure,
don’t rush to use a word after you discover it, but really, the
public shame of misusing a word in conversation is vastly overstated.
(I am much more cautious when I write though). When writing, if the
word doesn’t fit snugly into the context you need it for, chances are
that either you don’t need this word or don’t know it well enough to
use it. (Yes, a simpler word is almost always better if it conveys
what you want).

(0)

Login to post a comment!