Wheels of Words

Have you ever felt like the scene you were reading was practically jumping off the page?

I did, especially when the text passages invoked a string of images in my mind which set the atmosphere and make the character or scene more colourful, more realistic, more tangible. A lot of that vividness is achieved by a careful choice of words which introduce an underlying theme into a paragraph or action sequence. However, in order to pick the right words to create a theme, you need to have a big pool of vocabulary at your fingertips. 

Take the following passage for example:

The theme here is fire as a representation of pain. You find different word classes working together to conjure up the image:

Nouns: heat, fire, flames

Verbs: seared, blazed, burned

Adjectives: scalding, scorching

However, it has to be noted that sometimes one or two well-placed words are enough to set the theme. This example is aimed at demonstrating the possibilities and leans toward an overdose of fire-related words. Consequently, the impression of flames consuming Marla nearly overrides their association with burning pain in the reader’s mind.

Still, I think it is very important as a writer not only to research facts, habits, cultural intricacies and character quirks, but also the vocabulary that goes with those topics or images that are closely related to the scene you would like to set. In the end, it is these associations, made through vocabulary, choice that make up a big part of an author’s style in terms of descriptive writing. The vocabulary serves to invoke a vivid image in the reader’s mind, making a scene or character more tangible and imbuing it with its own flavour.

If you want to spice up your own writing synonym dictionaries like the Thesaurus can be a great help - www.thesaurus.com. Just try yourself out and play with your words! Another interesting option is the Urban Dictionary - http://www.urbandictionary.com/ - especially if you want to experiment with a character’s voice or bring some street-flavour into your scenery descriptions. When you write in a first person perspective such vocabulary choices can go a long way in drawing the reader into your world.

I hope you have fun creating your own images and worlds. And I’m curious, what’s the most memorable image you can remember? 

-Vivienne


Photo Credit to unserkachelofen.at