Word Choice | The Mindset to Make Wise Word Choices
As writers, we must grasp the importance and value of word choices. I don’t care if you’re an author, freelance writer, copywriter, magazine article writer, college student, high school student, teacher, or someone writing a Christmas card.
We write words for a purpose. We want the words we write to have an impact.
We want an emotional reaction, someone to act, a good grade, to please our client or agent. More often than not word choices highly affect the outcomes of our wording endeavors.
Choosing the right words is crucial for success.
Sometimes you sit down and write your heart out and then you go back to reread. You cringe over the wording. What happened?!
Your voice sounds like a highschooler in 1999…
At the same time, you find that some of your sentences are clunky and have words that don’t flow well.
Where is the happy place between our word choices being underwhelming or over-the-top?
Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you find your perfect writer’s voice.
1Make better word choices by understanding storytelling.
No matter what type of writing or public speaking you’re in, knowing how to be an amazing storyteller is the key to success in most fields.
When you understand the bones of your story, choosing the right words is just adding the meat to the bones.
If the bones of your story are bad then it won’t matter what words you choose. You could make the best word choices for the entire story and in the end, it would be for nothing because your story still wouldn’t make any sense or draw in a crowd.
2Expand your vocabulary.
In order to make better word choices, you have to grow the number of words you have access to.
Most people would say “read more.” And this is definitely true, but in reality, it’s easier to figure out better word choices nowadays.
Just Google it. Use a thesaurus online.
You could say, “Thank you for inviting us into your beautiful home. It was very pretty and you both treated us well.”
Or you could say something like, “Thank you for inviting us into your charming home. It was adorable and you both treated us with such care during our stay with you. We hope to do it again soon!”
I just Googled, synonyms for beautiful, pretty, lovely, and well to find those alternate word choices, that I liked better.
The example could still be tweaked a little, but being able to look up synonyms for overused words is very handy and will save you a good chunk of time compared to just vaguely “reading more.”
3Use words that are less vague.
There literally are better word choices in the sense that what we are trying to say could be better communicated by words that are closer to the meaning of what we want to say.
“The doctor told the patient they had Werewolf Syndrome, also called Hypertrichosis, or Ambras Syndrome.”
Or you could say, “The doctor diagnosed the patient with Hypertrichosis, also known as Ambras syndrome or Werewolf Syndrome.”
Both sentences work, but to say “diagnosed,” instead of “the patient had” gives the sentence more feeling toward being in the actual scene.
4It’s a part of your writer’s voice.
I’m going to make this very obvious. We may not realize it at first, but the phrases and word choices we make in our daily writing actually shape our writer’s voice for the reader.
Have you ever written a project and then reread it to yourself out loud?
How does it sound?
Does it sound different than you thought it would?
Or does it sound like you?
Some writers choose completely simple words all the time and use certain phrases often. Some writers choose more paramount words, while others choose ambiguous words.
Personally, I mostly use simple words. I find it to be a better way to get more points across. I don’t usually use words like, “paramount and ambiguous.” Those words are nice, but they may mean someone might get lost in the translation instead of just easily understanding what I’m literally trying to communicate to them.
But then again, I don’t always choose the “simplest” words. I could have said, “what I’m trying to say to them.” These are very simple word choices. But just as a personal preference I like to use words like “literally” and “communicate.” I use words like these in my everyday life, so it feels like I’m talking to someone nearly as closely as I would if we were getting a cup of coffee together and I was sharing something with them in person.
By making choices like these, this is how you will find your writer’s voice and it is an enjoyable process.
5Wordiness or no wordiness?
It really depends on what you’re writing. As a blogger, I can actually use “wordiness” to make my writer’s voice stand out.
There are also times where I use less “wordiness” to make a point. So I use this aspect to make my writer’s voice unique by choosing when to be wordy and when not to be wordy.
You too can use this to your advantage as a writer. There is no one way in most types of writing. (If it is extremely academic, you probably want to be less wordy for the most part. Pointless phrases might get you B’s instead of extra chuckles from your professor.)
But as a copywriter or an author, the amount of “wordy” you are can help or hurt your writing.
An author can be too wordy at the wrong times and bore their reader. Or they could not use enough words and leave the reader confused.
An author can also use “wordiness” to show that characters have different personalities and patterns of speech.
Jamie said, “I don’t like the way you’ve dressed today.
Whereas Kate might say, “Boy, you sure do dress funny.”
Both are communicating the same idea, but their word choices and “wordiness” are different because they are different people.
Don’t make the mistake of making your character sound just like the narrator (unless they are the narrator, of course.)
Final thoughts.
Focus on understanding the overarching story or message you are trying to give to your reader and word choices will make more sense to you.
Don’t be afraid to type in “synonyms for…” into your search engine or smartphone.
Choose words that are less vague. Some words have a better meaning for the feeling that you’re trying to give the sentence.
The words, phrases, and “wordiness” you choose have a profound effect on your writer’s voice. Understand this and choose according to how you want your reader to perceive you.
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Hope this helps!
Happy writing!
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Word Choice | The Mindset to Make Wise Word Choices
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Word Choice | The Mindset to Make Wise Word Choices
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