Finding the Right Word

In my opinion, the most fun (and most challenging) part about writing is finding the exact word to convey the intricacies of whatever it is you're talking about. I love this part!

Consider this little example I wrote up in about 30 seconds:

• The waiter slid a plate of baby greens and radicchio onto the table. She picked at it, scratching her head.
• The waiter threw a plate of lettuce onto the table. He stomped off, she scowled.

They feel different, don't they? They sound different. They are different. And yet they are both talking about a salad, a waiter, and a patron.

When you read the examples above:

• One salad is appetizing, one is a sorry excuse.
• One waiter is polite, another is exceptionally rude.
• One patron is puzzled, another one is disgusted.
• One atmosphere is pleasant, the other is hostile.

And all of these things come from simple word choice. That's it. Isn't it grand?

I spent many years as a technical writer and I still do it on occasion. But it's so much less interesting to me because there are only so many ways to tell a user to click a button, or select a menu item, or scroll down a page. And so eventually I moved into marketing communications, where word choice matters. Where the very slightest changes in word selection alter the tone, style, and overall effectiveness of a piece. And now that I'm getting into book writing, I'm finding that the challenge is the same.

One of the reasons not everyone can be a writer is because not everyone takes the time to carefully choose their words. This is why we edit...and edit, and edit, and edit. To get that perfect sequence of words that conveys exactly the feeling, scene, emotion, scent, whatever that we're looking for. I think it's a task that not many people are up to, because it takes a whole lot of work. And a whole lot of time.

I was editing a client's website copy yesterday and it took me an hour to edit three paragraphs. And it's not because I suck at what I do! On the contrary, it's because I'm good at what I do. Editing is so very important. So if you're a writer who doesn't edit, please start now! Finding the right word for every scene or description rarely comes on the first try. It takes trial and error, sometimes a thesaurus, and sometimes a walk around the block before you find what you're looking for.

But oh, how much more powerful it is when you get it right!