By Pranjali Wakde
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
- -Stephen King
Writers are a rare breed – they provide a new perspective on the world we live in, sometimes even creating new, unique, and interesting worlds from scratch. As long as they can equip their minds with ideas and their hands with a pen, they are ready to take on the whole world. However, at the base of this process lies the possession of words, which is thought to be inherent in every writer. It is not the case, as even writers struggle with their vocabulary too. The only difference here is that writers strive to build their vocabulary every minute, every hour and every day. How? By utilizing the following ways –
1. Reading a lot of books:
This one is a no-brainer, as people believe that the reason behind writers having such a vast vocabulary is because they spend all their time reading books – even Stephen King has said that! It is still partially true since most of the writers are avid readers and encounter many new words in between the lines. An additional benefit of reading books – along with increasing vocabulary – is also seeing how these words are used in sentence formation, which makes it even easier to understand how that particular word works. And it is always helpful to look through other’s writing styles, before forming and sticking to our own style backed by an impressively expansive vocabulary.
2. Regularly referring to a dictionary:
Referring to a dictionary is also a common thing that writers do, especially after encountering any unfamiliar words. While the writers used to carry pocket dictionaries with them all around, the physical dictionaries have now been relieved by smartphone apps. Along with that, it is not really difficult to go online, punch some keys and get the meaning – all within a matter of seconds. It helps to do so as some words come with different meanings and it is important to know in which context the word is used. Such searches also inform the writers about the root, the terminology and even synonyms of the word – aka letting every writer breathe in relief.
3. Making a note of words that intrigue them:
There are many words that writers get fascinated with after encountering them not only in books but also in anything readable. For instance, the first time I read the word ‘pulchritudinous’ was enough to make me fall for it, stamping itself in my mind forever. This is how some words get stuck in any writers’ brain – and that is when they make note of words like these. It won’t be surprising to see writers roaming around with a little diary on them, where words – and their meanings – are just scribbled in the corners of the pages, ready to be used at a moment’s notice!
4. Using flash-cards:
Flashcards are a recently introduced phenomenon that displays information in a bite-sized format for easy remembering and instant retrieval. Such cards are used to cover any and every kind of topic; and lately, it has been a popular way of learning and improving vocabulary. Many websites provide an amazing set of vocabulary flashcards, many of which are competitive exam-oriented. It’s not a surprise, then, to see writers shamelessly taking help of flashcards to expand their mind-thesaurus. Some of them, however, are still true to the traditional way of doing so, i.e. paper flashcards, which is nothing but writing down the words with the help of mnemonic clues. Now that’s useful!
5. Practising the words before using them:
Some words are elusive and even after reading their meaning, the way to use them is never really clear. To tackle this little problem, writers usually make sure they have looked up the words’ proper meaning and usage. In addition to this, writers also make sure that they have made themselves familiar with the word enough to be used comfortably in their stories. That would mean using it in different sentences and also, using it in daily conversation. Not only does it make the writer’s work easier but also gets them the satisfaction of explaining that word to others, as if they are the ones who invented it!
If writers are considered as mechanics then words are definitely their toolbox. Because what is a writer without their words? And the surefire ways mentioned here not only makes sure that there is a gradual improvement of the vocabulary but also sees to it that it is fitted in the writers’ brains for life.