The Power of Words: Why Word Choice Matters
3/19/2024 | Daphne Strasert
A writer’s job is to place one word after another, telling a story, evoking emotions, painting a picture in the minds of readers. How to do that is an elusive skill. It comes down to the very building block of writing: the word. The right word, expertly placed, is worth a paragraph of exposition. So how do you choose the right word?
Why Word Choice Matters
Your Personal Vocabulary
Every writer brings to the table their own background and experiences. Where you grew up, your level of education, your occupation, your hobbies… all of these affect the words that you use when navigating the world. It’s important to remember that these are different for every single individual. When writers embody their characters, they need to set aside their normal word choices in favor of the character’s. Understanding our personal bias allows us choose words intentionally.
Characterization
As an author, you have an arsenal of things you can use to show your readers who your characters are. How your character speaks and acts, and the details that you include about them, influence the impression that they make on the page. The following examples depict the same sequence of actions, but give vastly different characterizations.
In the first example, the use of “growl”, “swipe”, and “mane” all have an animalistic effect that give Peter a dangerous characterization. Meanwhile, “flounced”, “pout”, and “sweep” lend a childish air to Petey’s actions.
Narrative Distance
Narrative distance, or how close the reader feels to the characters and events of your novel, is governed by word choice. Consider your narrative character (usually your main character, depending on what POV you use) and how they would recount the events of the story. When writing, how close are you staying to their voice and word choices? Closer is not necessarily better, but you must make a conscious choice. To create distance between the narrator and the characters, establish different word choices for each. Make your narrator describe the world and events differently from how your characters speaks.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere sets the scene. You can draw readers in, leave them on the edge of their seat, or give them butterflies. The details that you include about the scene and how you choose to describe them influences your atmosphere. Atmosphere also reinforces your genre. Certain genres seek to evoke particular atmospheres. The following descriptions lead into two very different scenes.
In the first example words like “loom”, “gnarl”, and “creak” create a horror atmosphere, giving the house a spooky atmosphere. “Sentry”, “sparkling” and “gentle breeze” make the second house seem inviting and safe. Even the detail of a cherry tree, evokes a “cheery” atmosphere.
Author Voice
There are many elements to your author voice (that’s a whole other blog post!) including sentence structure, the ratio of showing and telling, the amount of detail in the description, the amount and style of dialogue, and, of course, your word choice. It is up to you to decide how much your author voice should reflect your personal voice and vocabulary. It is more work to establish an author voice that is starkly different from your normal manner of speaking.
What’s in a Word?
Characteristics of Words
Words have many forms and when it comes to synonyms, not all words are created equal. These factors can affect the impression that a word gives in your writing.
Simple vs. Complex
Simple words (e.g. walk) tend to be shorter, with less syllables. Complex words (e.g. saunter) are not only longer, but are less commonly seen.
General vs. Specific
General words (e.g. man) are more vague than specific words (e.g. bartender). If you find that you are using a lot of adverbs and adjectives, you can remedy that by looking for more specific words that don’t need modifiers.
Informal vs. Formal
Informal words (e.g. I guess) are used in common speech. This is the type of language you hear most often in daily life. Formal phrasing (e.g. I suppose) can sound stuffy, but is suitable for some situations.
Familiar vs. Exotic
Like informal words, familiar words (e.g. bakery) are ones that are commonly heard. Exotic words (e.g. panaderia) may be unusual only because of location. Exotic is a matter of personal experience. In Texas, panaderia is much less exotic than it would be in Minnesota.
Denotation vs. Connotation
Denotation is a word’s direct and literal meaning; the dictionary definition. It is standardized across the language.
Connotation is the secondary meanings, associations, and implications of a word. This can vary from person to person depending on their experiences.
When choosing words, it’s important to consider both the denotation and connotation of the words. Scent, smell, fragrance, stench, aroma, perfume, stink, and odor are all words that mean “smell”, but some have positive connotations and others have negative connotations.
Choosing Words
Audience
Who will be reading your book? The audience greatly affects the kinds of words that you can and should use.
Age Range
Childrens books use simple, clear language suitable for audiences that are just learning to read. Young adult books introduce more complex vocabulary and are filled with current slang that changes from year to year. This means that YA books can become dated relatively quickly. Adult books add even more complexity, as well as potentially including swears that wouldn’t be appropriate for younger audiences. Books aimed at elderly audiences make use of outdated slang and older references. If mental decline is a consideration, simpler words may be preferrable.
Reading Level
It may seem that age range and education are the same thing, but that is not necessarily the case. Most popular books are written at the 7th grade reading level. This makes books accessible and easy to read, allowing the story to shine through without readers having to spend much time analyzing what they’ve read. Books written on scientific and historical subjects are often written at a higher level because they assume a certain level of education in the subject matter.
Additionally, some adults struggle with literacy, but still want to be able to enjoy reading or improve their skills. A genre has emerged to meet this need called Hi-Lo (High Interest, Low Reading Level). These books use simpler language to tell their stories.
You can determine the reading level of your writing using several online tools like Readability Formulas or Readability Checker
Dialect
Even within the English language, there is a wide variety of words, concepts, and idioms to choose from. There are broad categories like British, American, or Australian, but also smaller subdivisions like AAVE (African American Vernacular English). Does your audience routinely use words from a foreign language like Spanish or French?
Genre
There are different vocabularies used in various genres. Reader expectations change depending on the type of book that they’re reading.
Literary
More than any other genre, literary books allow for complex vocabulary. Because of the experimental nature of the writing, bold word choices are acceptable. The literary genre often has a higher reading level than more mainstream genres.
Contemporary
Contemporary books require contemporary language. Be conscious of how your own language choices may have become dated, especially when writing younger characters.
Romance
The romance genre has a vocabulary all its own when it comes to describing, ehem, anatomy. If you intend to include the more intimate scenes in your romance novel, familiarize yourself with the terminology by reading within your subgenre and spice level.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Speculative fiction genres (sometimes including horror) include more invented words than any other genre. The tolerance for new concepts and words is incredibly high. In science fiction, technological terms are very common.
Thriller
When dealing with crime (a large part of the thriller genre), audiences expect to see more medical and legal jargon.
To get familiar with the word choices of a genre, read that genre!
Setting
Where and when does your story take place? The 19th century wild west of America necessitates different word choices than modern day Tokyo.
Time Period
Using correct word choice in historical novels requires research. Certain words, concepts, or idioms may not be in use depending on the time period of the novel. It is common for the author to use more formal language in some historical settings (Regency, Victorian, etc.).
Location
Where your book takes place will have a profound effect on the words you use. There are large differences (e.g. British vs. American English), but also more subtle differences that you may not initially think of. Check out the below maps of regional word choices in the United States:
When it comes to science fiction and fantasy, things become even more complicated. In worlds and societies that are different from our own, certain concepts and idioms (‘damn’, ‘oh my god!’, ‘hell’) may not apply. While you can invent new words and phrases to replace them, it takes some effort for those to flow naturally.
Character
Which character is speaking or narrating at the moment? Characters are all full people within their own worlds. That means they come with life experiences that shape their personal vocabulary. Much like you consider your audience when making word choices, consider what words and phrases are appropriate for your characters to use in dialogue.
Age
When writing a child character, consider what words they have been exposed to (not just slang, but all words) and common misunderstandings that may lead to using the wrong words, or mispronouncing a word.
Heritage
The family that raised your character will have a profound effect on your character’s language. Was Spanish their first language? Or does their family all come from India? This changes what words they have in their vocabulary, especially when it comes to food and idioms.
Location Raised
Just as you should research the language used in the setting of your book, the place your character was raised (or where they lived for any significant length of time) affects their word choices. A woman raised in the south might still use ‘bless your heart’ or ‘y’all’, even when living in Baltimore.
Religious Exposure
Does your character reference a deity? Which one? Different religions have different words, concepts, and phrases at their disposal. Even regional religious differences can affect word choice. American Protestant Christianity uses words like “fellowship” and “worship” more often and sometime in different ways than other groups.
Occupation and Hobbies
All occupations have their own specific vocabulary. Whether your character is a crab fisherman, a stock trader, a farmer, or a fashion designer, they have inside knowledge that those outside their field would not know. Sometimes these are words that your audience won’t know either, but that’s okay! Use context to explain the term.
Personality
Is your character prim and proper? They might use formal and polite language. Are they a rebel punk? Look for more slang (and cursing). An indecisive character might rephrase their words over and over again. A showy character might use complicated words they don’t entirely understand.
Situation
Finally, what situation does your character find themselves in? Whether they are talking to family, friends, romantic partners, or enemies will impact their word choice. A character who is being interviewed by police about a crime will recount events differently than they would to their friends.
Looking for help with your word choice? A line edit might be just what you need! Tomeworks editors are qualified to help you establish the voice that you want for your novel.