Incanus
Auror
I see this complaint by readers from time to time: coming across an unfamiliar word in a story is a distraction because it forces you to either look it up, or forgo a complete understanding of the sentence, thus breaking the flow of reading.
As is often usual, I seem to take the minority view. I see every vocabulary word I come across as an opportunity to learn and grow. I’m happy to learn a new word and sometimes get a little excited about it even. I’ve been stopping and looking up words for years and years with the result that I encounter unfamiliar words less often as my vocabulary increases. I think this a good thing.
The way I see it, a writer who isn’t interested in words is rather like a mechanic who is not interested in engines, or a chemist who can’t be bothered with the periodic table of elements, etc., etc.
So, I’m just wondering why some folks interested in writing seem to dislike, or are intimidated by, vocabulary words.
Is there something I’m missing? Is my attitude really that odd?
As is often usual, I seem to take the minority view. I see every vocabulary word I come across as an opportunity to learn and grow. I’m happy to learn a new word and sometimes get a little excited about it even. I’ve been stopping and looking up words for years and years with the result that I encounter unfamiliar words less often as my vocabulary increases. I think this a good thing.
The way I see it, a writer who isn’t interested in words is rather like a mechanic who is not interested in engines, or a chemist who can’t be bothered with the periodic table of elements, etc., etc.
So, I’m just wondering why some folks interested in writing seem to dislike, or are intimidated by, vocabulary words.
Is there something I’m missing? Is my attitude really that odd?