Kathy Steinemann - The Writer’s Lexicon: Descriptions, Overused Words, and Taboos

Descriptions, Overused Words, and Taboos By Kathy Steinemann Smashwords Edition ISBN: 978-1-927830-25-3 2017 Kathy Steinemann, all rightsreserved With your purchase of this book, the authorgrants you the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access andread it. You may not duplicate, transmit, transfer, download,decompile, reverse-engineer, or store in or introduce into anystorage and retrieval system, in any form, by any means, whetherelectronic or mechanical, currently available or invented in thefuture, any part of this book, without the express written consentof Kathy Steinemann. If you like this book, please remember to leave areview. Thanks! By Stuart Aken The English language has a huge advantageover many others: it shamelessly steals, borrows, modifies, andcombines words from other languages. As a result, it is rich invariety. The language allows users to express any given idea indiverse ways.

Writers in English, whether creatingfiction, composing poetry, or recording facts, have multipleopportunities to vary their means of articulating their thoughts.And, when authors use synonyms to effect, they not only enliventheir work but simultaneously provide the prospect for readers toincrease their vocabularies. A win/win situation if ever therewas. Any decent thesaurus lists alternatives forthe word a writer seeks. But it takes experience and imagination toprovide suggestions for replacements that will bring life to apiece of writing. Examples of usage, samples of extremes, instancesof subtlety, and variations in mood and tone all feature in KathySteinemanns excellent resource. She gives readers of this bookcomprehensive lists of similar or related words to those commonlyused, providing real substitutes for the conventional and allowingwriters to construct work that employs the most pertinent wordswherever possible.

Using this source, a writer can be certainthat her characters will merely cry no more. They may weep, wail,moan, caterwaul, pine, snivel, yowl, or any of dozens of otheremotive actions. But they wont be forced simply to cry. And, usingKathys examples as a lead, authors can improve their writing andraise it above the crowd, allowing readers to fully immersethemselves in the resulting creations. Stuart Aken is a novelist,storyteller, blogger, and developing poet. Refusing to be bound bygenre, he often mixes styles and content to produce unique works offiction that capture the imagination whilst purveying captivatingmessages about the human condition.

He has produced romance,thriller, epic fantasy, science fiction, and other works, whichstretch the normal boundaries of their allotted category. Youllfind his work, along with informative pieces on language use,opinions, and personal insights on his website at StuartAken.net .

During my writing endeavors I often foundmyself creating alternatives for overused words. I saved those wordlists in a manual on my computer and developed many into blogposts. Several of my blog followers urged me topublish the lists. I expanded them to produce this book.

As you write, realize that you wont findevery word you need in a thesaurus. For instance, a search of myfavorite thesauri for go didnt show skirr, whichmeans to move rapidly, especially with a whirring sound. When not writing, pay attention as you reador do crossword puzzles. Youll encounter alternatives that dontappear in your usual sources. By the way, sprinkled throughout thesechapters youll find ideas for story prompts.

This section covers nuisances that annoywriters around the globe. This section covers nuisances that annoywriters around the globe.

You know what Im talking about, dont you?Those little pests that cause big problems, creepinginto prose and poetry like a virus. You insert a favorite phrase.It seems so right that you insert it a few more times. Great. Until you realize youve repeated it adnauseam. No worries. Even if you dont find asubstitute phrase in these pages, youll learn how to engage youringenuity and create alternatives.

Although youll encounter a few rules inthis book, writing is not rules. It is a fusion of emotions,senses, and conflict. Whatever engages your readers should be therule.

Check your writing for the following andhandle them with care. Ive included many in the lists throughoutthis book. You look sobeautiful, darling.This is abeautifulmeal, chef.What abeautifulday!The rainbow isbeautiful.Look at thatbeautifulwoman.This dress isbeautiful. If you resort to beautiful more thana handful of times throughout a novel, dialogue excluded, yourwriting will suffer. You look sobeautiful, darling.This is abeautifulmeal, chef.What abeautifulday!The rainbow isbeautiful.Look at thatbeautifulwoman.This dress isbeautiful. If you resort to beautiful more thana handful of times throughout a novel, dialogue excluded, yourwriting will suffer.

At the end of this chapter, youll findalternatives for beautiful. Rather than plug insubstitutions, try exploiting the suggestions as catalysts totransform the words into verbs or nouns. Consider this sentence: Helen wasbeautiful. Lets pick a few words from the list and doa rewrite. Helensetherealpoisetantalizedeverysuitor who bowed the knee before her. Better? Cultivate your creativity. Instead of searching for overuseddescriptors, consulting a thesaurus, and selecting substitutions,try capitalizing on your finds and transforming them into verbs ornouns. Can we improve on this sentence? Every man Sonja met thought she wasbeautiful. Time for a rewrite.

Sonjas compelling charm captivated everyman she met. Although the sentence is more tellthan show, it is stronger than the first version. What do you think of this humdrumstatement? Tashas eyes lookedbeautifulin the starlight. Anyone could write that, including myeight-ear-old nephew. What can we do with three more adjectivesfrom the list? Theetherealradianceof the stars couldnt match theallureof Tashas eyes. Now we have a narrator who shows Tashasbeauty and possibly his attraction or infatuation. Heres another mundane sentence: The water lookedbeautiful. Says who? To a scuba diver, it could mean an oceanwith almost limitless visibility. A painter or photographer mightadmire a scene of sparkling ripples and diving seagulls.

An anglercould see beauty in water filled with fish. Remember who your protagonists or narratorsare and choose creative words to match their personalities andbackgrounds. How can we improve on beautiful water using suggestions from the list? The diver gazed into themesmerizingdeep,intoxicatedby itsboundlessvisibility.During themagicalmoments when day meets night, the artist captured on canvas thediving seagulls,sparklingwaves, andpristinereef.Glitteringschools offish darted to and fro,hypnotizingthefishermen with their promise of adelectable