Each day I walk past a new housing development and each day there is something new to see. Today I watched a master mason laying stones to form an elegant entrance to the project. The work he had already done spoke of an eye for detail and an instinct for which piece of stone would fit perfectly into each place in his wall. He has several pallet-boards of stone to choose from and each stone looks much the same to me – but not to him. His skill is knowing stone.
The story tellers’ skill is knowing words. Myself, I have three fat dictionaries and two thesauruses (thesauri?), all full of words. When I write a story I can choose any words I want. If I plan to impress you I can say I observed a peripatetic mendicant. If I’d like you to understand what I’m talking about I’ll tell you I saw a hobo or a tramp.
Just as the mason senses the differences between two similar stones as they relate to a space in his wall the story teller will sense the difference between words as they serve the story. If his story is for business leaders, for example, he will chose the vocabulary of today’s business world and probably throw in a few of the latest buzz words. For children’s stories the vocabulary is simple – mostly one syllable words.
But what about all the ordinary people in between? When in doubt, choose a simple word rather than a longer one. You could say ‘silly’ or you could say ‘unintelligent’. Which fits your meaning best? If it doesn’t really matter, choose the simple word. You could say ‘fat’ or ‘corpulent’, or choose one of many other words with approximately the same meaning. Use your thesaurus to check out all the options and select the one that fits precisely what you mean to say. Once in a while ‘corpulent’ may be your best choice but as a rule ‘fat’ nails your meaning accurately and briefly.
Personally I use my thesaurus often. My favourite one sits right beside my desk within easy reach and is comfortably dog-eared and tatty. I value it because it helps me select the word that expresses exactly what I mean. I try not to ignore the thesaurus and get by with whatever word slips into my mind and is pretty much what I mean. If I build a story or a speech with words that are pretty close, but not exact, guess what? I end up with a story that is pretty good, but just misses the mark for my audience or readership.
If a wall isn’t built with exactly the right stone in the right place it will look amateurish and awkward and it might fall down. Similarly, your story is built from individual words, each one selected by you to carry a tiny fraction of the burden of that story. Take time to choose carefully.
The Story Solver 