Writing Tools - The Dictionary is Your Friend

Writing Tools: The dictionary is your friend

"The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." - Mark Twain

Writers love words. Some might say that writers are obsessed with words, with finding the right words. In each and every project writers journey on a constant and continual quest for the perfect words to express their thoughts, their visions, their characters and their stories. This is not a futile quest. Words are all a writer has at their disposal to tell a story. Words give flesh and bone to a character. Words create images in the minds of an audience. Words make an audience feel. The right word, the perfect word has a lot of power. Finding the right word differentiates good writing from great. The perfect word helps a writer become specific, effective, and efficient.

Unless you are blessed with a vast computer data base of a vocabulary to draw from, the easiest and best place to search for the perfect word is the dictionary. This is more than finding the correct spelling of a word. When it comes to the perfect word, the dictionary is your best friend. And you shouldn't just have one dictionary. All dictionaries are not created equal. Every writer should have a variety of dictionaries on their desk and at their at their fingertips:

Start with a standard dictionary (such as the Concise Oxford English Dictionary), a Thesaurus, and a Rhyming dictionary. Sometimes it's easier to open a book than to search online. Perhaps you're working intently with pen and paper and don't want to get out of that rhythm to open your computer.

Having said that, books are finite and are not always up to date. They may only have room for one or two definitions. Access to online dictionaries such as www.dictionary.com will provide an infinite number of solutions to finding the perfect word.

You should have access to a dictionary with archaic definitions. Sometimes the meanings of words change over time. If you're writing a period piece, hunt around for a dictionary of the era. Not only do meanings change, but words appear and disappear depending on their usage.

What else? Specialized dictionaries that have lists of words for a specific profession (such as a medical or law dictionary), phrase dictionaries, slang dictionaries.

Further to to finding the right word for a certain project, use the dictionary as an exercise tool. Open up your dictionary to a random page, and point to any word. Go to the word of the day on an online dictionary. Write 50 words on that one word. Describe the word using the five senses. What character would have their word as part of their vocabulary?

A writer should use every available tool to take their writing to the next level. Use the dictionary to create a specific vocabulary of a character. Use the dictionary to find the exact word you want to describe a location, a behaviour, an emotion. Use the dictionary to find the perfect word.

Lindsay Price is the resident playwright for Theatrefolk, an independent publisher of playscripts for schools and student performers. http://www.theatrefolk.com

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Using an Online Dictionary As a Writing Resource

It used to be that a writer needed a fixed base. A place to call their own. Not because they actually needed one to write in you understand. What they needed was a place to store their dictionary and thesaurus. After all, carrying a 20-volume copy of the Oxford dictionary was likely to give one a major backache or worse!

But all that has changed!

Writers are no longer tied to their desks and their bookshelves. With the advent of netbooks, tablets and laptops, the portable author can take his bookshelf with him. But even that can be cumbersome as discs go missing and need to be stored in a binder.

The presence of internet hotspots has removed even that restriction. Now the author can find an internet connection in almost any coffee shop. Usually for free.

And that means that online dictionaries are available as a writing resource even for the portable author.

There are many online dictionaries available. Of course, the major dictionaries are all online. Merriam-Webster, Oxford, Collins, Random House. All are available online. In addition, there are a number of other specialist or lesser dictionaries also available. And of course, there are dictionaries that exist solely on the internet. Even Google has a dictionary available.

Most of the online dictionaries also include connections to other related tools such as a thesaurus or an etymological dictionary. Even pronunciation aids and translation aids are available.

Using an online dictionary is very simple. The easiest method is to use Google and the search "define term" where term is the word you wish to define. You'll get a list of dictionaries that you can choose from. For example, if you search "define word" you'll get a list of definitions of the term "word".

But for a writer you may want to use only one dictionary.

My own preference is the Oxford dictionary (not the OED unfortunately) if I am writing for an audience outside the U.S., but Merriam-Webster for an audience within the U.S.

Whichever dictionary you chose the process is remarkably similar.

It begins by signing on to the dictionary's website. Once there, you will normally find a search field. Enter the term you wish to search and press the search button.

Depending on the website, the result will be either a list of alternatives, a combined definition plus other references, or the default reference entry for the website, which is usually a definition.

However, most of the websites also include a menu of different resources. For example, Merriam-Webster has a Dictionary, Thesaurus, Spanish-English dictionary, and Medical Dictionary available. In this case, you can pick the most suitable lexicon.

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Glen Ford is an accomplished consultant, trainer and writer. He has far too many years experience as a trainer and facilitator to willingly admit.

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