Friday, July 10, 2009

Learning New Words to Take Your Writing to a Higher Level


The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman is the amazing word craft book I'm currently reading. Thanks to Julie Dearyan at the Write to Publish conference for recommending it.

One of the exercises Lukeman suggests is to learn new words, so we’re not relying on the same vocabulary every other author uses. He suggests buying a set of index cards, then writing new words as we come across them, but not immediately using them in our writing until we make them our own. This involves using them in conversations and thoughts for several weeks until we become fluent with them. Then and only then can we call them ‘ours’ and use them in writing.

I have always loved words (when I look up a word in the dictionary, my heart actually pounds faster as I approach the word on the page). So this exercise was an easy one for me. Here are a few I’m learning:

ODIOUS: "Deserving of hatred; offensive, abhorred; appalling, disgusting; dreadful."

EXECRATE: "To call down evil upon; curse; condemn."

IMPERVIOUS: "Impenetrable; secret, mysterious."

Have you learned any new words lately? What are some of your favorite words?

Happy Weekend,
Jen

15 comments:

  1. I read Lukeman's book this past year too and I loved that idea for writing new vocab words out. I do think the key is making them as natural as possible in our lives, so that they will just overflow into our writing. I haven't done this process yet and I'm not totally sure why. Maybe part of it lies in the fact that I've read some books that have a higher level of vocabulary and it almost seemed like the author was showing off his intelligence. So, how do we keep our writing from becoming too proud and showy if we're writing with a higher level of vocabulary?

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  2. That was one of the first books I ever bought. Love it! But I am terrible at learning new words. I think because my memory balks at adding more to it.

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  3. Jody; This is an excellent question. I think as we learn the words and their derivation and use them often in speaking, we grow to "own" them. Then when we use them in our writing, they are a natural part of our voice.
    Does this make sense?
    And I agree with you that no one is much edified by a show offy writer. They are not writing for their audience, but their ego.
    Blessings,
    Jen

    Terri: LOL! I prayed just this morning that God would increase my brain power to hold more and do more.
    It sounds paradoxical, but I think learning new things will increase your ability to learn new things, if you know what i mean. Like exercising a muscle. But it's too early in the morning to pontificate!
    Blessings,
    Jen

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  4. Words are so much fun! And it delights me to know there are so many of them out there for me to still learn. :D Got the CD -- Thank you!!!
    ~ Wendy

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  5. I like learning new words, but haven't actually learned any lately. LOL!

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  6. Thanks, Jeanette, for the tip! Odious is a favorite word of mine because of Proverbs 30:21-23.

    I also enjoy learning new words, the problem is just remembering to use them at it's appropriate time. I usually remember later by saying, "Oh yeah, I could have said ..."

    smooches,
    Larie

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  7. Just learned execrate. Thanks, Jen. I love learning new words too.

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  8. Wendy: You are welcome, dear. Let me know what you think. jeanettelevellie(at)gmail(dot)com

    Jessica: Yes you did, you just learned three!

    Larie: Only have my NT here at work; will have to look that one up later at home.

    Eileen: You are welcome, dear. Happy weekend!

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  9. Hi Jen -

    I can't think of any that I've remembered recently. I do love using Merriam-Webster.com because they post a word-of-the-day (I just never thought of writing them down before!)

    Have a great weekend!

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  10. I subscribed to a word-a-day e-mail service for six months, but I cancelled recently because it became too much. My favorite word from the service? Wifty!

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  11. I learned one from the newspaper, "vlog"- a video posted on a blog.

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  12. Hi, Karin: Thanks for telling me this: I will check that out!

    Jill: What does wifty mean? I can't wait; i must go look it up!

    Karen: I had not heard that one either, til I went to the WTP conference last month. Thanks for sharing,
    Jen

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  13. Picayune - trivial or petty. The first time I had ever heard this word was 2 years ago from my then assistant. She's the only person I've ever heard use it.

    Bill O'Reilly likes to end each show with a new word. One night recently, his word was picayune. I cracked up!

    I received the book today! Thank you so much! I can't wait to read it! Have you signed up for Facebook yet? I just looked for you but couldn't find you.

    Hugs and Blessings, Leslie

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  14. Leslie; That is a terrific word! Thanks for sharing it. I think I've heard it a time or two, but it's uncommon.

    You are welcome for the book.

    I am not on Facebook yet. I am almost ready to send the proposals out, then will sign up. Probably around Wednesday or so. Keep looking for me..

    Blessings,
    Jen

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Oh, it's YOU! I'm so happy to see you here today, and look forward to reading your comments.