While looking for things that have inspired me in my writing, I found a quote by Mark Twain. "The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightening and the lightening bug." Inspiring, yes, and a dilemma I'm facing at the moment. I have a series called an S word and Seduction. I'm getting ready to write the 5th book in the series and until I find that perfect S word I'll have some trouble starting the story. I do know some things about the characters. He is an attorney. She was a free spirit who is settling down. Death and an infant/toddler brings them together. So far so good.
How to find the perfect word since none has popped into my head. I'll turn to another book that has brought inspiration - the thesarus - that's been on my shelf for ages. This book is all about finding the right word. One of the problems is that I love words and sometimes I get so involved in leaping-from word to word here looking at nuances that I quite forget what I'm looking for. I could also look at a dictionary. There are a lot of words there and once again I get involved in jumping from word to word.
How about you? How do you find the right word rather than the almost-right word? Since words are a writer's best friend choosing among the many we read every day can blow one's mind. If we didn't care about words we wouldn't be writers.
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2 comments:
I don't use a thesaurus. I use a flip dictionary.
Where you looking for the word Sex by chance?
Janice~
Thinking of words that connect with the practice of law--how about Summons? Service is possible too...or Suit
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