Casting for a Better Vocabulary: Go Fish

"Writers fish for the right words like fishermen fish for, um, whatever those aquatic creatures with fins and gills are called." --Jarod Kintz (source: Goodreads)

I thought this was a pretty cool quote, and decided to see where it might lead if I pursued it. And, as you might guess, I found myself on a fishing expedition. I remembered that Stephen King, in his book On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft, suggests it "behooves" the writer to construct their own toolbox of writer's tools with vocabulary being at the top of the tray. I decided to build on that idea, but, instead of a toolbox, I'm going to pack a tackle box. Now I've never been much of a fisherman (fisherwoman? fisherperson?) myself--though my son always liked to fish, and we still have his old tackle box around here somewhere--but having said that, I still decided to...ahem...dip my toes into the water of this metaphor. Here goes.

In my vocabulary tackle box I will pack:

1. Lures. Books make great lures. "Read voraciously. It's undeniable that reading is the most effective way to get new vocabulary." --10 Sure-Fire Strategies to Improve Your Vocabulary.

2. Hooks. Be intentional. Hook words on purpose. "Find a new word each day for the next twenty-one days," says Marshall J. Cook, How to Write with the Skill of a  Master and the Genius of a Child. "This kind of exploration, fueled by a childish curiosity to find the names for things, can yield immense rewards for your emerging master writer...(and) help you develop your flexibility in exploring the full power of the words you already know."

3. Fishing line. Cast in wider waters of vocabulary words. For example, Cook also suggests studying the meanings of words from other languages for special insights. He shares: "The word for friend in one American Indian dialect translates literally as 'one who carries my sorrows on his back.' What a beautiful sentiment, and what a marvelous testimony to the spirit of the people who created such a language."

4. Sinkers. Sinkers are used to plumb bait to a depth where the fish live or are biting. Go to greater depths, too, in writing, by learning new words. Robert Harris in 1062 Vocabulary Words makes this case with his discussion on shades and degrees of meaning...exactness of meaning ...nuance...and clarification of concept.

5. Bobbers. These are the gaily-colored little floats that signal a fish is tugging on the line. And that, my friend, is the greatest thrill--at least it was for me those few times, as a child, my grandmother would take us kids to the lake. And then pulling the line up and finding a catch at the end--what fun! So should it be with learning vocabulary words--make it fun. Are you a crossword puzzle fan? Like games such as Boggle and Scrabble? "Having fun with words is one of the most fun and effective ways to build your vocabulary and thereby make your writing stand out. Enjoy words. Savor them. Find out their etymology, their uses, their synonyms and antonyms. When you have fun with words, it will show in your writing." ---Jacob Richman

6. Stringers. Fishermen collect their catch and join them together on a stringer, holding the fish close and fresh in the water until ready to go. So a writer has a stringer of her own: the dictionary. "Read the dictionary often," says Steven Taylor Goldsberry, The Writer's Book of Wisdom. "The loose words will inspire you to join some together."

7. Swivels. Swivels help the fisherman connect equipment such as one fishing line to another, or the line with sinkers and lures--giving them more opportunity for precise fishing. An expanded vocabulary connects the writer's thoughts and story flow. Having a good vocabulary is more than knowing a large amount of words, however. Luciano at Litemind.com's Top 3 Reasons to Improve Your Vocabulary, says, "The point of having a good vocabulary is being able to choose words with greater precision."

Vocabulary (n. the stock of words used as by a person, group of people, or profession; all the words of a language) in the broadest sense is a great wide pond, a pond of words from which to draw. Writing is communicating, and to communicate more effectively, the writer should intentionally cast for new words, just the right word, words that express more clearly what the writer is trying to convey.

And expanding one's vocabulary doesn't have to be a dry, boring, task-oriented exercise. It, like a fishing excursion, can be fun. So why not pick up your fishing pole, equipped with all the supplies needed in your tackle box, and head out to catch some words? The day is sunny. The breeze is blowing. The pond calls. Can you feel it?

Helpful links:
Merriam-Webster's Online Word of the Day
Think Map Visual Thesaurus
Creative Ways to Learn Vocabulary Words
Free Vocabulary Learning Games

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Flexibility

Flexibility.

Such a familiar word--except, maybe, in how it applies to writing. This is another thing I learned from Cook's How to Write with the Skill of a Master/Genius of a Child.

Cook suggests an exploration exercise: "Select a finished story--your own or somebody else's--and play the 'How Many Endings?' game with it. How many different ways could you end that story? Don't judge, analyze, or otherwise evaluate...just capture the ideas. When you think you can't think of any more endings, think of one more."

With reservations, I decided to try this with my children's historical fiction manuscript. At first my brain cramped. After all, I've written the book--how could I possibly approach the ending any differently? But I grabbed a notebook and pen, and forced myself to begin freewriting ideas.

I jotted down first one, two, then three variations--and immediately scratched them. No, I mumbled, I'll stay with what I already have, thank you very much. No sense in changing things this late in the game.

But the drill wasn't finished. Even though I was sure I couldn't come up with any more endings, the suggestion was to try to think of one more. So I stayed with the exercise just a bit longer...

That's when a neat little twist--not a major rewrite, mind you, but a burst of something extra--came to my mind. An idea that has potential to strengthen my story, give it a touch more depth. Wow.

"The master writer," Cook says, "brings this sort of childlike flexibility to her writing. She ignores limits and sees instead the possibilities in a scene, an image, a word...She tries new angles, new combinations, new points of view...Master writer and teacher Ellen Hunnicutt puts it this way: If you only write the story that is planned, you will miss the story that is revealed."

See what a little extra stretching will do? Why stop at the knees--reach for the toes!