Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [vocabulary]

This tag should be used for questions that deal with different aspects of a writers' vocabulary, such as asking for techniques to expand one's own vocabulary, how to present the vocabulary of characters to the reader or how to check your own word usage so that you don't repeat yourself too often.

This tag should be used for questions that deal with different aspects of a writers' vocabulary, such as asking for s to expand one's own vocabulary, how to present the vocabulary of characters to the reader as part of the or how to check your own word usage so that you don't repeat yourself too often as part of .

62 questions
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11 answers

Tips for expanding my vocabulary?

Looking back through my texts, I noticed that I often use a lot of the same words and resort to using quite a basic vocabulary. I was wondering if there are any good exercises or anything else for expanding my active vocabulary. I know that the…
pHneuma
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How do I incorporate Vocabulary in my writing that I already know?

I seem to have this problem where I know a lot of words but can't always seem to think them up when I write an article or a story. I know the meaning of most of these words, but when I write, some everyday phrase or idiom comes to my mind first or I…
Rio1210
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How do I say that someone is black?

Sorry if this is an ancient solved problem to ask in 2019, but I googled about this and Quora isn't really answering me. I searched for the words black and race and politically as key-words on this website but still not a satisfactory answer. The…
user37170
14
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5 answers

Using profanity

I'm working on a war novel (sci-fi). My initial plan was for my MC to start out with a very clean language, almost comically clean, and as the plot progresses and the situation gets more FUBAR, his language would get more colourful. Other characters…
Galastel supports GoFundMonica
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9 answers

How to expand my vocabulary?

I wanted to write something for a long time. But what I think is, in writing the choice of words plays a very significant role. From where I can learn this thing? I think I don't have enough words in my active vocabulary to write what I feel or want…
Harshit kyal
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7 answers

How many different words are in the average novel?

I realize there's going to be a bit of variation here from one author to the next and depending on length of the novel, but the range shouldn't really be too large. The thing is, I really have no idea where the middle of that range lies. 5,000…
temporary_user_name
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10 answers

Effective ways to enrich your active vocabulary?

I come across words like rectitude, like laudatory, like indigent, and being an experienced reader with a strong grasp on my native language, I know what they mean. They're words that I know. But they're not words I think of when I'm writing. I know…
temporary_user_name
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9
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6 answers

How to stop writing from deteriorating mid-writing?

I'm not really sure how to describe this, but whenever I write I tend to start off okay-ish but as I progress it all just falls downhill. I think it's because I get too ahead of myself with my ideas and try to write it down all at once, which just…
Kyl
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2 answers

How to use word frequency data?

I just found the 'word frequency' tool in Scrivener's text statistics, but so far all I've done with it is read down the list (it occasionally generates amusing sentences) and check that words like "puissant" haven't started multiplying. Is there a…
mkbk
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5 answers

Acquiring vocabulary to write fiction

I am a non-native speaker, learning the English language, and I am already fairly good in reading and writing technical texts. I also enjoy reading fiction books much, but there's one thing that hits me - the language in fiction is of course…
noncom
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8
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What linguistic tools do you use?

I've got a Flip Dictionary, a Thesaurus, my trusty Strunk&White, and I use the almighty GOOG(le) should I ever be unsure of the definition of a word. What does everyone else use? Is there some handy reference that I'm missing? I'm not really…
Satanicpuppy
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5 answers

How to balance for readers who are not technologically literate

My story features two software developers who discuss computer-based things in the first chapter. It's not a significant part of the story, but it helps to establish who the characters are and what they know. Being a software developer as my day…
Mike.C.Ford
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8
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Where can I find a good vocabulary list?

I'd like to expand my vocabulary and already do several of the things recommended in the Tips for expanding my vocabulary question. In addition to that, I've been spending some time with a flashcard-like program I wrote and am looking for good…
Brandon
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What's the literary term for saying you "see fireworks" when there are no fireworks?

So, like the question says, basically. Say a character kisses someone and the writing says "she saw fireworks exploding behind her closed eyes", what is that? Because it seems like it comes from the same family as similes/metaphors but isn't either…
user64447
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What are the words that were used during Shakespeare's time that are seldom used nowadays?

I would like to write a Shakespearean poem that reads and sounds like a poem written during that time period. However, I don't know where I can find an exhaustive list of words that were used during that time with the corresponding words used today.…
user36239
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