Thesaurus-Friend or Foe?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know's avatarWriting your first novel-Things you should know

6207da0c9e08fd20a96cc7bf70033c98I’ve read over and over that the thesaurus is a ferocious enemy of the novice writer. As a new writer, we want to impress others with our command of the English language. Often times to the detriment of ourselves.

Do you use the Thesaurus for bigger better words to make yourself look smarter and more professional? STOP!

Not all synonyms are created equal-just because the thesaurus says a word is a synonym doesn’t mean it’s the exact counterpart. Some words when replaced with a synonym no longer mean the same.

Stop peppering your writing with ‘big words’-using ‘big words’ can make your writing sound fake. No normal person uses those words. Get real.

Embrace your vocabulary as it is-this will help you develop your voice and sounds authentic.

We are not walking dictionaries or thesauri but having a large vocabulary is definitely helpful which is why extensive…

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4 thoughts on “Thesaurus-Friend or Foe?

  1. Caught me—I agree, yet I still use it when I do not want to duplicate a word too frequently. If your writing is at a fifth or sixth grade level, then your word choice should be consistent.

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  2. I completely agree. Your writing has to ‘sound’ natural, or readers will immediately spot that you’re trying to talk up to them, and reject you. Make your writing sound as natural as possible. Not everyone is a Victorian era Literature professor. Keep the verbiage simple. Hell, it worked like a champ for Hemingway.

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