Having to look up words in a story

[StillStunned]

English is an incredibly rich language. Not just in the number of words, but in what all those words can mean, how they work together, and perhaps more importantly how they *sound* together.

You can do so many things with just simple words if you put them together properly. Why try so hard with big words that will just distract the reader?

 

[EmilyMiller]

I think some of it is literary influences. I love Conrad.

Em

 

[Smuttyandfun]

I was going on a six hour road trip and decided to take two books. I started one, and I just couldn't read it. The writing was so pretentious, it felt like the author had devoured a thesaurus before she started writing.
The other book was a fun little romp that I really enjoyed.

 

[StillStunned]

I was going on a six hour road trip and decided to take two books. I started one, and I just couldn't read it. The writing was so pretentious, it felt like the author had devoured a thesaurus before she started writing.

I had a similar experience once with a fantasy novel. Whenever the author was describing a scene, she listed everything one by one. In the kitchen it was all the herbs hung up to dry. In a forest it was all the trees and plants. That kind of stuff. I got the impression she thought of herself as "someone who loves the richness of language" but had never actually read a really good book.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

I had a similar experience once with a fantasy novel. Whenever the author was describing a scene, she listed everything one by one. In the kitchen it was all the herbs hung up to dry. In a forest it was all the trees and plants. That kind of stuff. I got the impression she thought of herself as "someone who loves the richness of language" but had never actually read a really good book.

Filler in a book is something I don't enjoy. I don't need to know about the woodgrain on a table, or the quality of crystal glasses they're drinking from. Just tell me the story, and do it well, and I'll enjoy it.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Hyper-detailed worlds and environments are a style in fantasy writing. There are some readers who absolutely love it. Others (who read like I do), not so much. As part of the fiction craft, it does allow of total immersion in a fictional world.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

You do need some description to paint a scene. But describing every tiny detail, in my opinion, is overkill.

 

[genzsub]

I try to keep the pace of the action in my story to the same pace as a reader actually reading it. Luckily, I'm not a fast reader, so that gives me time to put in details , but using too big or too many words to get across what's happening would just mess up the rhythm, I think.

That's just my style, though. I'm sure others prefer a different experience.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Filler in a book is something I don't enjoy. I don't need to know about the woodgrain on a table, or the quality of crystal glasses they're drinking from. Just tell me the story, and do it well, and I'll enjoy it.

Fill-her in a book is of course a horse of a different color.

Em

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I normally eschew polysyllabic words when monosyllabic words will suffice ...

 

[EmilyMiller]

I normally eschew polysyllabic words when monosyllabic words will suffice ...

Nevertheless, oftentimes there is an overriding necessity to indulge wantonly in orgiastic polysyllabic diarrhea.

Em

 

[Pureotica]

Sometimes a less common word has a nuance that its more mundane counterpart doesn't. I'll use the alternative if it serves clarity, precision, or aesthetic impact.

I'm admittedly a word nerd, who thinks about language too much, and from odd angles. Sometimes I'll use words that are common to me, without realizing they're more obscure in general use. In one of of my college fiction courses I used the word poring, as in poring through an old catalog to find parts for a car the character was restoring. Several people tried to correct it to pouring, which tells me the word was unfamiliar to them. I didn't think it was obscure , and these were creative writing students, so I expected them to have sophisticated vocabularies. So maybe it's less common than I think. Or maybe I was in a class with dumber-than-usual writers, but I'll go with the more optimistic assumption.

I'll use common words in uncommon ways for creative reasons. Changing the part of speech or using it in a less common context. Certain nouns can be used as intransitive verbs, for example. It trips some people up, but if I do it, it's for a reason.

99% of the time if I encounter an unfamiliar word, I'll approximate its meaning from context and keep going. It's only when I need to know for clarity that I'll stop to look it up at the time.

And I hate words with pointless extra syllables. Resiliency means the same thing as resilience, so why do we need to clutter the dictionary with the redundant word? English is complicated enough. I hate them even more when I catch myself using them.

 

[Djmac1031]

But what about to a Googolplex?

Em

Is that anything like a Soloflex?

Those things were all the rage in the 80s..

 

[EmilyMiller]

Is that anything like a Soloflex?

Those things were all the rage in the 80s..

It’s pretty much exactly the same thing - and now I have my new word for the day.

Em

 

[StillStunned]

Is that anything like a Soloflex?

Those things were all the rage in the 80s..

So were incurable AIDS, football riots and the Cold War.
Luckily we had the music to make up for it all. And some pretty good movies.

 

[Pureotica]

Is that anything like a Soloflex?

Those things were all the rage in the 80s..

A googol is 10 to the power of 100, and a googolplex is, if I remember correctly, 10 to the power of a googol. Or maybe it's a googol to the power of a googol. The math is beyond my puny brainpower. My brain does interesting things with words, but not so much with numbers. But its a one with more zeros than I'll ever need. I can't see much practical use for it, but part of me is comforted knowing it exists, just in case. At one time it was the biggest, named number, but I'm sure someone has done something bigger by now, just to show off.

If not, I'm calling it a googolplex plus one. Where do I go to collect my Nobel prize?

But I wonder how long, and how many sheets of paper it would take, to write it out.

 

[JusticeGrey]

A googol is 10 to the power of 100, and a googolplex is, if I remember correctly, 10 to the power of a googol. Or maybe it's a googol to the power of a googol. The math is beyond my puny brainpower. My brain does interesting things with words, but not so much with numbers. But its a one with more zeros than I'll ever need. I can't see much practical use for it, but part of me is comforted knowing it exists, just in case. At one time it was the biggest, named number, but I'm sure someone has done something bigger by now, just to show off.

If not, I'm calling it a googolplex plus one. Where do I go to collect my Nobel prize?

But I wonder how long, and how many sheets of paper it would take, to write it out.

Tree-killer

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Personally, I’m delighted when I read a story and the author has used a word I’m unfamiliar with. It’s a chance to learn a new word. But do some people find inaccessible vocab annoying?

Em

Using a word I don't know? Fantastic.

"Alexa! What does 'antidisestablishmentarianism' mean?"

Using too many words I don't know? I have a descent vocabulary.

If I can't understand your words, and I can't figure out their meaning through context clues, then you are veering dangerously close to the realm of JARGON OVERLOAD.

 

[EmilyMiller]

A googol is 10 to the power of 100, and a googolplex is, if I remember correctly, 10 to the power of a googol. Or maybe it's a googol to the power of a googol. The math is beyond my puny brainpower. My brain does interesting things with words, but not so much with numbers. But its a one with more zeros than I'll ever need. I can't see much practical use for it, but part of me is comforted knowing it exists, just in case. At one time it was the biggest, named number, but I'm sure someone has done something bigger by now, just to show off.

If not, I'm calling it a googolplex plus one. Where do I go to collect my Nobel prize?

But I wonder how long, and how many sheets of paper it would take, to write it out.

Hi,

A Googol is indeed 10^100

But a Googolplex is 10 to the power or a Googol - or 10^(10^100)

A Googolplexian is 10 to the power of a Googolplex - or 10^(10^(10^100))

None of these have ever been the largest number with a name.

The are pretty tiny compared to Skewe’s Number, Rayo’s Number, Graham’s Number or TREE(3).

And it’s the Field’s Medal - no Nobel Prize for math. Allegedly as Alfred’s wife had an affair with a mathematician.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

Hi,

A Googol is indeed 10^100

But a Googolplex is 10 to the power or a Googol - or 10^(10^100)

A Googolplexian is 10 to the power of a Googolplex - or 10^(10^(10^100))

None of these have ever been the largest number with a name.

The are pretty tiny compared to Skewe’s Number, Rayo’s Number, Graham’s Number or TREE(3).

And it’s the Field’s Medal - no Nobel Prize for math. Allegedly as Alfred’s wife had an affair with a mathematician.

Em

Loved math. Just wasn’t so good at it. Biology is more me.

Em

 

[Paul_Chance]

Math porn. Hmmmmm.

 

[StillStunned]

Math porn. Hmmmmm.

It's a sin of the times.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It's a sin of the times.

Are you @onehitwanda in disguise?

Em

 

[StillStunned]

Are you @onehitwanda in disguise?

Em

If I was, I'd be going off on a tangent by now.

 

[EmilyMiller]

If I was, I'd be going off on a tangent by now.

Or posting some hentai or a GIF