Vocabulary words--Distraction or Opportunity?

[Incanus]

Writing that makes reading easy is hard work.

Well said. I agree fully, with the one possible caveat that I think this issue almost entirely separate from that of word choice/vocabulary.

I have even come up with my own term to describe this: narrative flow.

I think about this a lot. It is the organization of ideas, how one thought leads smoothly into the next, the phrasing and presentation, the pacing at the sentence level. I find that when this is handled really, really well, I can read a bit faster. When done right, it looks deceptively simple.

 

[chrispenycate]

I have another reason for needing polysylabics- rhythm. I have a strong belief in the parallel evolution of language, music and dance, hearing oral tradition memorisable by heartbeat, by body's repeat. Even in prose, the pace is largly governed by the meter - subconsciously we're closer to our dancing ancestors than we might realise.

As wordsmith, more than talesmith, English offers substitutes, alternatives that sound right, or deliberately clash.

I have some supplement'ry beefs - though not long freed
From living, working in Francophonie
A Latinised vocabulary, I concede,
Invades the operation of my dictionary
So now, returnèd to dank Albion
I've fewer simple words to draw upon.

Whereas not frequently I frequent
Those hallowed regions where poesy holds sway
Rhythm in prose I never shall repent
As mechanism in the everyday.
Percussion, melody and rhyme
Mnemonic aids, run through our blood and bone,
Communication, as in ancient time,
Can sing, or magic text intone.

 

[Ronald T.]

Incanus,

I couldn't agree with you more.

I seldom sit down to read that I don't have a dictionary close at hand. I never allow myself to simply ignore a word I don't know because it might interrupt the story for a couple of minutes. If I don't have access to a dictionary, I write the word down until I do. It has become a long-time habit. In fact, I will stop a movie or TV show to look up an unfamiliar word. Fortunately, my wife is very understanding of my obsession and has been quite tolerant of the interruptions. Because of this, my vocabulary has grown exponentially over the years.

But, like you, I believe that a large vocabulary is a necessary tool for a writer. Just as story structure, grammar, character development, and spelling are important, so it is with vocabulary. I don't see how writing at a sixth-grade level when writing an adult novel serves anyone's capacity to learn. True...the basic enjoyment of a story is a large part of what a reader should gain -- expansion of the mind is the rest. Are we to stop learning simply because we are no longer members of a grade school classroom?

We are now members of an advanced classroom: we are writers.

Like you, Incanus, I feel a thrill upon learning a new word. And I can't help feeling that each word I learn is just another arrow in my quiver in the battle to become a better writer.

Your post has been a gift to my writer's heart. Thank you.

 

[Mythopoet]

I don't believe it's an either or question. (I don't believe there are any either or questions pertaining to fiction.) It depends on what kind of story it is and how well the vocabulary choices fit within the style of the writing.

For instance, in Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, it's not so much that there are a ton of big words (though there are big words) as the first person POV character uses a lot of archaic terminology to give the world he lives in a feeling of having regressed culturally, even though it's thousands of years in the future. This was a great device that really contributed to the atmosphere of the narrative. Of course, since a lot of these words aren't even going to show up in a dictionary, being so out of use, there was a glossary at the end of the book, though you could usually get an inkling of the meaning from context.

I know that I used to be much more impatient with print books that threw in a lot of words I didn't know. Especially when you can't really get even a hint of the meaning from context and it's a important word to understand. That honestly just seems mean spirited of the author. I'm more forgiving these days when I come across an unfamiliar word in an ebook and I can just tap it to get the definition. Thank you, Amazon! Because, honestly, as a reader, I don't want my story experience interrupted because I need to go find a dictionary. Unless, like in the above example, the unfamiliar words really contribute something to the story. Most of the time, in my experience, they don't. Words are tools. If the words aren't allowing your reader to immerse themselves in the story, if your words are constantly sending them to a dictionary, then you're not using words right. That's my opinion.

 

[Incanus]

Incanus,

I couldn't agree with you more.

I seldom sit down to read that I don't have a dictionary close at hand. I never allow myself to simply ignore a word I don't know because it might interrupt the story for a couple of minutes. If I don't have access to a dictionary, I write the word down until I do. It has become a long-time habit. In fact, I will stop a movie or TV show to look up an unfamiliar word. Fortunately, my wife is very understanding of my obsession and has been quite tolerant of the interruptions. Because of this, my vocabulary has grown exponentially over the years.

But, like you, I believe that a large vocabulary is a necessary tool for a writer. Just as story structure, grammar, character development, and spelling are important, so it is with vocabulary. I don't see how writing at a sixth-grade level when writing an adult novel serves anyone's capacity to learn. True...the basic enjoyment of a story is a large part of what a reader should gain -- expansion of the mind is the rest. Are we to stop learning simply because we are no longer members of a grade school classroom?

We are now members of an advanced classroom: we are writers.

Like you, Incanus, I feel a thrill upon learning a new word. And I can't help feeling that each word I learn is just another arrow in my quiver in the battle to become a better writer.

Your post has been a gift to my writer's heart. Thank you.

Well how cool is that? Thank you, Ronald T.

We seem to be of the rarer sort. I knew I couldn't be the only one to see things this way. I certainly hope you stick around. We get into some cool discussions here from time to time.

I agree with Mytho's point about the vocabulary choices being appropriate to the specific story. In my last project, some pretty crazy words were required (I got to use splendiferousness! And pulchritude!). I don't think it would have worked nearly as well without them. But for my upcoming project, such words really woudn't fit that well.

Either way, though, they are almost never a distraction to me. Whatever book I'm reading isn't going to crawl off or burst into flames if I pause in my reading to check a word out; it'll still be there waiting for me.