I love words. I love complicated and interesting words. Fun
sounding words and words with unusual meanings. It’s a little hard
to weave into normal conversation, but I’ve managed to do it on occasion. One of my favorite words is
“defenestrate”.
As a writer, it’s not my job to always use the coolest word
or I would say, even the most accurate word. I have to use the right word.
There are unusual words that might be correct but if the
word is too unfamiliar to the reader, you run the risk of losing them. I don’t
think we should dumb down our writing but sometimes the most specific, accurate
word isn’t the right word.
I also believe some authors end up sounding
pretentious. I know when I’m
reading a book and I run into certain words, I feel as if the author just wants
to show me they know what the word means.
For example, the word “defenestrate”. As I said, I love this word. I would
not, however, throw it into a book even if it was the most accurate word. Who wants the reader to feel as if they
need to look up words while they’re reading? I want my readers captivated by
the story, not feeling like they need a vocabulary lesson.
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| The To Do List (Welsh Wolves 1.5) Coming Oct. 25 |
I write erotic romances and I don’t want my love scenes to
get boring. I’m always trying to find new words for what’s happening in my
books.
Take the word “thrust”...always looking for good ways to say
that. Let’s face it. Whether I’m writing m/f, m/m or m/m/f, someone is usually
“thrusting” at some point.
Check out the word “thrust” in the Thesaurus and you get: advance,
blitz, boost, drive, impetus, impulsion, jump, lunge, momentum, onset,
onslaught, poke, pressure, prod, propulsion, punch, push, shove, stab, whack,
wham.
All good words. Some I like better than others. Some I’ve
never thought of and some I will never use in a love scene. Poke and prod
just aren’t sexy. Wham? Don’t
think so. Drive, shove or stab would have their uses as things get hot, heavy and
maybe a little rough.
As a writer, it’s all about choosing the right word for your
story.
--- Tielle
And a few notes about “defenestrate”. Part of the reason I
love it is because it comes from the Latin word fenestra. De-fenestra. You de-window something
or someone. It’s usually used as a term of political dissent. Its first known
use is in 1620, according to M-W.com. I looked it up on Wiki-pedia (I know the
challenges of Wiki-pedia but I’ve heard this story before).
The term originates from two incidents in history, both
occurring in Prague.
In 1419, seven town officials were thrown from the Town Hall, precipitating the
Hussite War. In 1618, two
Imperial governors and their secretary were tossed from Prague Castle, sparking
the Thirty Years
War. These incidents, particularly in 1618, were referred to as the Defenestrations
of Prague and gave rise to the term and the concept.
