Words have the power to create images in the reader's mind. Those images are yours — the writer's — to control, to manipulate and direct based entirely on the words you choose to employ. That power is within your grasp. All you have to do is reach out and take hold of it.
How, you ask? Make use of that fantastic tool we call a thesaurus. You've all seen them before — you know, in the bookstore, shelved side-by-side with the dictionaries and a myriad of "How To Get Published In 90 Days Or Less" handbooks — but do you own one? If you don't already own a thesaurus, stop reading right now, head to the bookstore or Amazon.com and buy yourself one. A writer without a thesaurus is like an artist without paint, a sculptor without stone. The tools to create are there but the substance is missing.
Many a writer will claim, "I have all the words I need right here in my mind," but why limit yourself? Every one of us is raised differently, our environment playing a major role in the extent of our vocabulary and many times limiting that vocabulary to the specific slice of culture we're exposed to as we grow and mature.
In a language filled with variations and nuances, there may be twenty different words used to convey a similar meaning, and some words are naturally more powerful than others. While writers and readers may [click to read more]
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