A Word I Love

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

          Last week I reviewed One Word: Contemporary Writers on the Words They Love or Loathe edited by Molly McQuade. This week I wrote about a word I love. In fact, it's my word of the year.

          My favorite word is perspicacious, an adjective based on the noun perspicacity. I would have picked perspicacity, but it’s too harsh sounding when pronounced. Perspicacious rolls off the tongue.

          I think being perspicacious—acutely perceptive, discerning—is like having a super power. It makes you an excellent judge of character, intuitive, wise, and a better writer as words like perspicacious reinforce the importance of finding the right word instead of dragging your writing down with explanatory phrases.

          When I looked up perspicacious in The American Heritage Dictionary to double check the definition, I discovered perspicuity, defined as the quality of being perspicuous, with the sentence example “He was at pains to insist on the perspicuity of what he wrote.” Perspicuous is defined as clearly expressed or presented.

Professional writers are required to clearly express themselves by using the right words—to be exact. To find the right words, I recommend referring to The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale and the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. They will help you become a perspicacious writer.

         

          For more information, I wrote about these two books in a post dated 6/9/14.

Make Time for Rewriting

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

The best way for me to write well is to write essays, columns, and posts as quickly as possible. Get down every idea. Capture the energy I feel about the topics on the page. I don’t worry about punctuation, perfection, or organization; I just write. This is the exhilarating part. Be fearless! It’s fun!

If I’ve interviewed someone for an article, I also write the first draft quickly as I weave the person’s quotes into my prose.

When I run out of thoughts while writing, I stare at the ceiling or out the window. If no new thoughts come to mind, I start to rewrite.

          At this point, rewriting means I read my first sentence looking for unnecessary words and awkward phrases then omit or improve them. I move on to the next sentence and then the next until a new thought comes to me. Then I go back to writing.

I repeat this process until I reach my daily goal for long projects or “complete” the essay, article, column, or post by getting all my thoughts down.

But no piece is finished until I rewrite it.

Since I’m also an editor, I love this process. However, I wait at least a day, usually longer, before I focus on rewriting. Errors and awkwardness jump out at me when I work with fresh eyes.

Again, I reread my sentences omitting unnecessary words and rewriting or deleting phrases and sentences, but now I also look for clarity. I reorganize sentences and paragraphs as leads are often buried two, three, or more paragraphs into the piece.

Rewriting means letting go as well as improving what stays. I delete or save for another piece between a third and half of my work.

Then I concentrate on spelling, punctuation, and word choices. For ideas, I refer to The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale or the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. (If interested in these books, see my post dated 6/9/2014).

Reading pieces aloud helps with rewriting, too. I’m often surprised when what reads well on the page doesn’t work when I listen to the words so I don’t skip this step.

Rewriting helps keep errors from living eternally in published pieces so it can be difficult to stop, but deadlines must be met. To submit the best work I can produce, I schedule in the time to put pieces aside then go back and rewrite them.

Be aware that rewriting takes more time than writing. I timed myself in a post dated 10/7/2013. Roughly, I spend one third of my time writing and two thirds rewriting. 

I’ve never regretted a minute of the time I spent rewriting. It not only elevates my writing, it’s the mark of a professional.

Complementary Thesauruses

 

From Kate's Writer's Crate…

        Since I started writing my 500 word posts, using exact words has become imperative. It always should have been, but with higher word counts the pressure to keep searching for exact words wasn't as intense.

In my rough drafts, I use the first words that come to my mind. As I rewrite and polish, I search my vocabulary for different words, better words, the exact words that make my thoughts clear to readers. If I run out of ideas, I turn to my thesaurus.

I use and love The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale. Compared to the thesaurus I used in school, it contains many more choices and leads that get me to the exact words I need/desire. It's one of those I-know-it-when-I-see-it situations. The exact word is not always the longest or most exotic; it's the right word for a particular sentence.

I didn't think I could be swayed from my allegiance to The Synonym Finder. However, while browsing for writing books recently, I discovered the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus which contains intriguing and advantageous differences.

I enjoyed the Introduction  "In Search of the Exact Word" by Richard Goodman, a tribute to Flaubert for penning the phrase le mot juste, i.e., the exact word. According to Flaubert, "All talent for writing consists after all of nothing more than choosing words. It's precision that gives writing power."

This thesaurus is precise. It uses a variety of ways to clarify words for writers.

For fun, ten writers contribute mini-essays, each titled "Word Note", about words they like and dislike. David Auburn, Michael Dirda, David Lehman, Erin McKean, Stephin Merritt, Francine Prose, Zadie Smith, Jean Strouse, David Foster Wallace, and Simon Winchester share comments that are informative and opinionated.

Most unique about this thesaurus are the boxed explanations or special notes after some of the listings for:

Usage—Bryan Garner, a usage expert, lists the history of the word, where it was printed, critics of the word, and popular use.

Word Links—For example, after the listing of synonyms for flag, the word vexillary, meaning relating to flags, is boxed.

Choose the Right Word—Lists and defines a word's synonyms and then uses them in phrases for clarity.

Easily Confused Words—For example: After the synonyms and antonyms lists for eminent, a boxed list  of eminent, imminent, and immanent are each defined clearly so readers are positive they are using the correct word.

Word Spectrums—For example, begin/end. In one shaded box are listed the range of synonyms for the word begin and then for the word end. Another example is optimistic/pessimistic.

Word Toolkit—Lists three synonyms across the top of the box and then, underneath each synonym, the words that pair with them. Reminders are also placed after some words to refer to toolkits printed elsewhere.

        All of the extras in the Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus are handy references, but The Synonym Finder offers more choices per word making both books goldmines—perfect for writers searching for le mot juste.