# How important is a diverse vocabulary in writing?



## MySweetPeacock (Jan 9, 2015)

Would a short vocabulary, in a grammatically well written and manipulated piece, make it harder or less enjoyable for you to read?


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## Sam (Jan 9, 2015)

Not harder nor less enjoyable. 

The most important skill a writer needs is the ability to keep a reader wanting to read at all times. If you come on too strong with high-falutin language, the reader may become exhausted trying to keep up with all the big words. If you use the wrong words, you create confusion and disengagement from the story. 

Great writers know when to use a ten-cent word and when to keep it simple, but vocabulary means almost nothing in terms of being able to write a great story.


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## TJ1985 (Jan 9, 2015)

I think many writers get bogged down with trying to use all the words they know to prevent repetition in the piece. The best advice I was ever given on that front was to consider a picture or painting of a forest. Browns and greens, a little blue in the sky, but the main colors are brown and green with other accents of gray and black for shadow. 

If the same thought process is put toward writing, we have the brown and green words like "and", "the", "there", and a few words that brighten the picture. Some pictures are of autumn or sunset scenes with bright yellows and orange hues, rich reds and shades of purple, but not every picture or piece of writing needs to be so colorful. 

Sometimes the beautiful scenes are not beautiful because of the colors they have, but because of the colors they _don't_ have. Writing is the same, using many words throughout the piece to replace one can help the piece or hurt it. I suppose writing mastery is knowing _when _and _when not_ to use a different word.


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## Deafmute (Jan 9, 2015)

words are tools. A skilled craftsmen may be able to make a great work of art with only one tool, but its easier to make a great work of art with more tools.


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## Pidgeon84 (Jan 9, 2015)

Granted I don't want to be bashed over the head with repetitive wording. That said, the most important thing is to paint a clear and invigorating picture. That takes priority.


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## thepancreas11 (Jan 9, 2015)

Ernest Hemingway made a living off of writing in a simplified form. Mark Twain if famous for hating big words, though he used them from time to time.

You don't need a big vocabulary to write. You need an idea, and you need to execute it. If you need any tool, it's a wealth of research (i.e. books that you've read, practice writing, and really getting in depth with pieces that you come across) that will give you something to draw on, something to turn into writing success.


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## Kyle R (Jan 9, 2015)

To me, [strike]simplicity is the purest form of good prose[/strike] simple prose is the best prose. :encouragement:


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## Terry D (Jan 9, 2015)

Funny thing about writing; your vocabulary is always sufficient to tell your story.


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## SwitchBack (Jan 9, 2015)

MySweetPeacock said:


> Would a short vocabulary, in a grammatically well written and manipulated piece, make it harder or less enjoyable for you to read?



One question, how short is short. 

You can only write "he ran" so many times before your audience is chucking the book at the wall from sheer boredom. 


Big words that are not part of typical vocabulary - geoponics which my friend insists is agricultural studies for example is something that you wouldn't use. 



My English professor said this once - _There is nothing worst than a bunch of monkeys using fancy words to make themselves human. They don't understand what they're saying, and the humans don't understand what is being said either. 
_
Basically if the word makes *you* hesitate, then you don't use it.


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## Bishop (Jan 9, 2015)

It's kind of like furniture. One or two well-placed pieces of awesome vocabulary can really make the living room shine, but if every piece of furniture is a hand-made leather-clad bluetooth enabled hundred year old antique? You're going to have one tacky, ugly living room. 

Basically, people will know you're trying to hard. Be natural to your voice and your vocabulary level. Honesty in writing leads to good writing--be honest about which words you use.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 9, 2015)

Agree with Bishop - use the words you, yourself, would normally use. Don't get 'fancy' if that's not your natural voice.


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## TKent (Jan 9, 2015)

I agree with everything everyone says to a degree, BUT, I have a very limited vocabulary and it results in very awkward complicated sentences often times because it takes so many words to convey what I'm trying to say. Awesome is going to get pretty boring if that's the only way I can describe something (and that is of course an exaggeration as I also use incredible and cool--not just awesome. LOL. I am consciously trying to learn a bigger vocabulary because I think it is important to have many tools at your disposal. 

Also, if your narrator is an intellectual but your own speech and vocabulary are far different, then you may need to research that just like you would historical information. Same with dialog for different characters.

Yet as I said I also agree with everything that has been said, but to degrees 

The key for me is figuring out how to use my new words in a way that sounds natural. That isn't easy, but neither is writing for me in general.


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## Morkonan (Jan 9, 2015)

MySweetPeacock said:


> Would a short vocabulary, in a grammatically well written and manipulated piece, make it harder or less enjoyable for you to read?



No.

As others have said, a good vocabulary gives you the appropriate tools needed for the appropriate tasks. But, you don't need a five-dollar word to cram up the lines in a piece written with character narrating it with a ten-cent vocabulary. Resist the desire to pick up a thesaurus and, instead, just focus on writing. You'll know when you're at a loss for the "right word." When that happens, then you can look around for ideas. But, don't rush to cram in five syllables when two will do nicely.


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## dale (Jan 9, 2015)

read steinbeck for a great example of simple words and sentences masterfully woven together for a powerful effect.


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## TKent (Jan 9, 2015)

By the way, my response was to short/limited vocabulary. Not the size of the words necessarily. There are millions of simple words and in my opinion, the more you know, the more nuanced your prose can be. Doesn't have to be big words, but more words to choose from will definitely help me. Some of the best prose I've read is filled with simple prose and simple words. But there were simple words that aren't a part of my easily accessible vocabulary, that allow the authors to simplify complex ideas and feelings.


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## TKent (Jan 9, 2015)

That said, one of my favorite reads of 2013 was THE ROOM which was narrated by a ver young boy. All simple words/vocabulary.


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## tabasco5 (Jan 9, 2015)

These are the times that try men's souls.


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## J.T. Chris (Jan 9, 2015)

Many writers have made a great living writing on a very limited vocabulary.


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## The Defenestrator (Jan 9, 2015)

Virgil, widely recognized in the Classics as a Roman author and poet, used a compressed vocabulary to create his magnum opus, the Aeneid.  I cant remember the exact number my professors spouted, but it was under 1000, if my memory serves me correctly.  In a poem like the Aeneid, that's not a lot of different words to use, and yet Virgil's poem is excellent, even in its unfinished state.  

It is especially excellent because the poem itself was a type of propaganda for Augustus Caesar, and thus meant to appeal to a very wide number of Romans, and intended to be read orally.  This means that Virgil had to use uncomplicated language, but also not repeat himself over and over especially because of the oral nature of his poem.  

So what I'm getting at is that there is NOTHING wrong with a limited vocabulary.  The MOST important thing is to use the words you have WELL.  Purple prose is rarely impressive because its purple. It just comes across as narcissistic writing.  Simple prose is often impressive because of its ability to communicate an  interesting story to the most people.


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## Mystery (Jan 9, 2015)

Go read Harry Potter, then read Kingkiller Chronicles by patrick rothfuss.

You'll learn for yourself how much a rich vocabulary can embellish a narrative.


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## aj47 (Jan 9, 2015)

Having a large vocabulary is more about using the _right_ word than the _sesquipedalian_ word.


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## Kyle R (Jan 9, 2015)

shadowwalker said:


> Agree with Bishop - use the words you, yourself, would normally use. Don't get 'fancy' if that's not your natural voice.



In many cases, this is great advice! But it doesn't always apply.

Sometimes, the narrator speaks differently than the author.

In those cases, I strive to _kill_ my natural voice and use the voice my narrator (or character) would use. 

Sometimes this comes easily. Sometimes, not so much. :encouragement:


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## Kyle R (Jan 9, 2015)

TKent said:


> There are millions of simple words and in my opinion, the more you know, the more nuanced your prose can be. Doesn't have to be big words, but more words to choose from will definitely help me. Some of the best prose I've read is filled with simple prose and simple words. But there were simple words that aren't a part of my easily accessible vocabulary, that allow the authors to simplify complex ideas and feelings.



It's like what Nathaniel Hawthorne said: "Easy reading is damn hard writing."


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## shadowwalker (Jan 9, 2015)

Kyle R said:


> In many cases, this is great advice! But it doesn't always apply.
> 
> Sometimes, the narrator speaks differently than the author.
> 
> ...



I probably should have used something other than "voice" in my comment. Every character, including the narrator, will have their own voice. But if one strives to have characters use a _vocabulary _that is foreign or different from the author's, it's very often - I would even say most often - not going to work very well. Mainly because the author is going to be relying on a dictionary or thesaurus to make the character sound different, rather than speech patterns. And frankly, most people who use those two books to _find _words instead of _confirming _them is going to err.


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## Westwood (Jan 10, 2015)

I always found that diverse vocabulary was a positive thing -- however, in my style of writing, being able to break down some adjectives that are understandable to the natural public is important to get any point across. In that light, usually you'll use different vocabulary maybe to show off a character's personality, or maybe even your own. But, using a lower sense of vocabulary and more "every day" words can allow some readers to connect with the read, more so than with complicated words.


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## bazz cargo (Jan 11, 2015)

Hi Mysweet,
welcome to WF.

Hmmmm, you open with a bit of a head scratcher, a story is part plot, part character and part sweat. Frequently there is a message or  something buried in there. 

For me, it is a choice of what 'mood' I'm trying for, funny, sarcastic, romantic, edge of seat drama. Certain word choices convey differing messages and effects, having a large vocabulary is good as it gives a writer choice, which word to chose is part of the craft of writing. 

Good luck
BC


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