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In Search of the Perfect Word
Diction, the words you choose, affects the style and tone of your writing and, if used effectively, can stop a reader in their tracks, according to poet Roy Mash. “Words are atoms of meaning,” he said. “They have associations but not necessarily meaning until they cling together and form bonds.”
When we speak, ideas translate easily into words. When we write, however, an idea is often followed by a pencil-chewing moment in which we consider the right words to express it. “Sometimes we struggle so long,” Mash said, “we end up settling for a less-than-perfect word.”
Writers have long debated which is better: common words such as Hemingway used or the “out of the way” words Faulkner favored. Words can be divided in four tiers, according to Mash. The most basic are core words that any second language learner recognizes (blue, run, house). It’s possible to write using only core words and be effective, but using words from the next tier, peripheral words (ardent, bungle, frazzled), can add spice to your writing. As with any spice, Mash said, you can overdo it. “Peripheral words put definitional strain on the reader, but they also wake them up a bit.” He then cited two higher tiers, the passive (alluvium) and the arcane (cohosh) writers can use to elevate their prose.
German and Latin had a huge influence on the English language, Mash said. For every German word (begin), there is a more “elevated” Latin version (commence), and the words you choose from these pairs affect your writing palette. Jane Austen’s work, for example, features a lot of “high-brow” Latinate words.
In addition to word choice, phrasing and word order as well as sentence length affects the style and tone of your writing. Short sentences can sound almost fable like while longer, more complex sentences and phrasing set a different tone.
Mash considers himself a “word collector.” When he writes, he sometimes starts with the words and moves upward to form the idea. Other times, he starts with the idea and works down toward the right words. “Working within the poetry form directs you to certain words and ideas,” he said. “Poetry requires the tiger being kept in the cage.”
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