Do you use unusual words? Do you like to read unusual words?

[UsuallyPresent]

"My disobliging ways are a matter of habit" - T S Elliot, The Rum-Tum-Tugger

How can you run into that line, at speed, and not get a giggle?

 

[Britva415]

Some of my writing is technical and naturally contains unusual words

Are they unusual for the audience, though?

 

[AG31]

A few thoughts:

"3. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.

The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But said is far less intrusive than grumbled, gasped, cautioned, lied. I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with “she asseverated,” and had to stop reading to get the dictionary."

I certainly enjoy Elmore Leonard, and those may be good rules for authors who want to sound like Elmore Leonard, but I also enjoy authors whose voice is distinct, has personality. Perhaps they exhibit pleasure in using a wide vocablulary. I've cited classic British mysteries earlier in this thread. From Sayers to James. It could be I'm misremembering and they really don't exemplify this quality. But it was an author from California, who writes about a British lord and who sounds to me just like those classics who got me thinking about this.

 

[MillieDynamite]

The Hopalong Cassidy series has a lot of tags that are, "Something is said," he ejaculated. Ejaculated has an entirely different common usage now!

A few thoughts:

* I was introduced to this concept when reading an SF writer, I believe it was Isaac Asimov, relating how the editor of everyone's favorite SF magazine, John W. Campbell, had a rule: only one unusual word per story. "Unusual" meaning it would be likely to cause the reader to get a dictionary. By that time I was already noticing that many of the stories I was reading as a teenager (I read exclusively SF & Fantasy then) did, in fact, contain no more than one unusual word. I actually thought it was pretty cool. Good prep for the SAT.
* Elmore Leonard had something to say about it, as a side note to a larger topic in his 10 Rules of Writing (bold emphasis mine):

* Some of my writing is technical and naturally contains unusual words. I also tend to use a larger number of words in conversation, much less writing, than usual -- I'm not writing for 8th graders. But I'm not averse to using the occasional word just because I think it's really neato, like numinous or soughing (thank you Ursula K. Le Guin for the inspo), because there's really no other word that would serve as well. I also love the worlds of possibility they suggest (to me, at least).

Edit: in re-reading the chapter I just linked, I didn't even consider that words like tumescence, interminable, prolapsed, euphonious, fugue, sibilant, felicity, and tryst might be thought of as "unusual" by some.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I was thinking of this topic when I used mercurial in my current WIP.

-Annie

 

[MetaBob]

* Some of my writing is technical and naturally contains unusual words

Are they unusual for the audience, though?

I don't think that matters much in this case. I think of Star Trek's "tech talk," which is basically tech-sounding hokum, or any show about doctors. "House" comes to mind. The difference is that on doctor shows, the medical language is real even though the actors might have no idea what the words they're saying signify.

In both cases, the audience accepts it. One example from one of my many unfinished works-in-progress ("Personal Assistant"):

"How do we access your development environment?" Jill asked.
He showed her. It was already running in the background on his computer.
"Clojure. Interesting."
"And Python, and of course HTML and **********."
"I don't know Clojure, but can make my way around the rest."
"Nice. Let me show you what I need to finish by next Friday. If you're interested in working here, you can play an important role. I need to focus on the Clojure engine."
Not long afterward he said "It's 5:00. Anyone who wants to can go."
"No way," Nancy said, "there's too much left to do. Maybe at 6:00."
Jill and Molly nodded. Barbara stuck her head out of her office and yelled "Same!" Barbara and Molly got on the phone with UCLA to learn more about the research assistant. At 5:45 Alex and Jill finished coding and testing one of the web modules he needed to finish by next Friday. He showed her the remaining change requests.
"The UCLA guy is an expert at web stuff," Molly said.
"Good, 'cause I'm not," Alex said.
"I'm OK at it," Jill said, "but far from expert."
"You're better than me," he said as they got back to work.

In this example, I figure that most readers will have heard about some of the computer languages I mention without necessarily understanding their significance or relationship to each other. They can look up what they aren't familiar with, so I feel responsible for making the technical terms credible, but I also understand that the reader won't feel obligated to do so. It's tech talk, not dialog. FWIW, I also have a Star Trek novel in development. Everyone I've showed it to wanted to see more, and only one of them geeked out and looked hard at the tech talk I used, which of course I tried to make as credible as possible, and that person confirmed that it was right on -- more credible than the usual TV episodes with their "temporal rifts" and "gravimetric distortions."

Edit: One word I used in my "Personal Assistant" excerpt got automatically asterisked out, which is pretty funny to me: it's the name of a computer language that most websites use. I figure that this site asterisked it out because they don't want any code from that language accidentally executing. What I wrote wasn't code, of course, just a name. But apparently this site thought it was credible enough to asterisk it out. The joke's on me, I guess.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I don't know C++ from BASIC, Pascal, or Fortran. BASIC, Pascal, Fortran, oh my, were off to see the programmer, the wonderful programmer of SMUTT!!!

I don't think that matters much in this case. I think of Star Trek's "tech talk," which is basically tech-sounding hokum, or any show about doctors. "House" comes to mind. The difference is that on doctor shows, the medical language is real even though the actors might have no idea what the words they're saying signify.

In both cases, the audience accepts it. One example from one of my many unfinished works-in-progress ("Personal Assistant"):


In this example, I figure that most readers will have heard about some of the computer languages I mention without necessarily understanding their significance or relationship to each other. They can look up what they aren't familiar with, so I feel responsible for making the technical terms credible, but I also understand that the reader won't feel obligated to do so. It's tech talk, not dialog. FWIW, I also have a Star Trek novel in development. Everyone I've showed it to wanted to see more, and only one of them geeked out and looked hard at the tech talk I used, which of course I tried to make as credible as possible, and that person confirmed that it was right on -- more credible than the usual TV episodes with their "temporal rifts" and "gravimetric distortions."

Edit: One word I used in my excerpt got automatically asterisked out, which is pretty funny to me: it's the name of a computer language that most websites use. I figure that this site asterisked it out because they don't want any code from that language executing. What I wrote wasn't code, of course, just a name. But apparently this site thought it was credible enough to asterisk it out. The joke's on me, I guess.

 

[Britva415]

I don't think that matters much in this case

I see what you mean. I thought you were talking about being a technical writer outside of Lit.

 

[MetaBob]

I don't know C++ from BASIC, Pascal, or Fortran. BASIC, Pascal, Fortran, oh my, were off to see the programmer, the wonderful programmer of SMUTT!!!

Perfect example.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Edit: One word I used in my excerpt got automatically asterisked out, which is pretty funny to me: it's the name of a computer language that most websites use. I figure that this site asterisked it out because they don't want any code from that language executing. What I wrote wasn't code, of course, just a name. But apparently this site thought it was credible enough to asterisk it out. The joke's on me, I guess.

Initials "JS" by any chance?

-Annie

 

[MetaBob]

Initials "JS" by any chance?

-Annie

That's the one. I'm sure I could write it in a way decipherable by those less knowledgeable than you, but honestly, it's not important, and I'd just as soon not draw scrutiny to anything other than stories.

 

[MillieDynamite]

SMUTT = sexual MUTilation and Titillation.

 

[TheLobster]

Edit: One word I used in my "Personal Assistant" excerpt got automatically asterisked out, which is pretty funny to me: it's the name of a computer language that most websites use. I figure that this site asterisked it out because they don't want any code from that language accidentally executing. What I wrote wasn't code, of course, just a name. But apparently this site thought it was credible enough to asterisk it out. The joke's on me, I guess.

No, the joke is absolutely on Lit. The fact that they’d just blacklist “Javascript”, in a half-assed attempt to avoid cross-site scripting, is as hilarious as it is sad. It certainly gives a strong hint what kind of tech whizzes work on this site, and explains why it feels like a rickety shantytown held together by duct tape and chewing gum.

 

[Comshaw]

Sometimes "unusual words" are those that are somewhat familiar, but because they are used in a particular scene or circumstance become unusual for their placement. Like this passage from the John Wayne movie "Big Jake" for instance:

"James, don’t be fooled. They all know what’s in this box, and they all want it. What we’re doin’ with this ostentatious DISplay is tellin’ ’em they can’t have it. Who knows, we may be savin’ some poor miscreant soul’s life this way."

Here you have a plain-spoken rancher, tougher than nails who out of nowhere spouts a couple of words that don't seem to fit his demeanor or style.

I also have a habit of using colloquial regional terms. Because they are, they are unusual to those who have never heard nor used them; words like "palaver".


Comshaw

 

[Cali_Love]

I make up words all the time. Never been penalized for it. I very much enjoy reading the Australian authors that publish in Romance. Some even write an index so we northern hemispherians can get it. They have a good time with their English vernacular and I love reading that. Fun.

 

[Katie_Mae]

Here are the sentences that got me thinking about this.
....
"Lynley wondered why the man was being deliberately repugnant, wondered what was motivating him to go to such great lengths to develop and then display a side of his character so ugly as to be intolerable."

I genuinely don't know which word/s in this are considered unusual*. That's not me bragging that I use 'unusual words' so much they're 'normal' or anything, just a difference in what's seen as 'usual.' Because for there to be an 'unusual' their must be a 'usual' and that's going to be different across time, place, culture, circumstance etc.

So I think I can safely say that yes, I do use unusual words. From someone's point of view, anyway.

*Though possibly the way the whole sentence is put together rather than a specific word?

 

[MediocreAuthor]

I actually enjoy using words that might be considered a little unusual. More specifically, I love hearing or reading a word I don't know, and then shuffling it into my vocabulary. When I was in college, I learned that we all have 2 vocabularies: a passive vocabulary and an active one, and I have always found it fun to try to make those two vocab lists as similar as possible.

In writing, I will use just about any word I can to prevent repetition. This sometimes leads to me introducing less common expressions or words in order to stay fresh. That said, I'm no literary genius, and what lots of people would probably consider my vocabulary down right tiny... but at least I try.

The exception to that habit is in dialogue. I hate it when characters use words which don't match their education or time period, etc. So I try to use simplistic words for simplistic characters.

 

[CockSparrow]

For eleven years, I wrote a column for a reasonably upmarket business magazine. Apart from length (800 words, give or take), I was given very few rules. The one rule that the editor did tend to enforce was 'use words our readers will recognise and understand. If they feel the need to go away and consult a dictionary, on paper or online, they may not return.'

 

[ChloeTzang]

Oh yeah, I do all the time. Aussie slang in a couple of my stories was just the cats whiskers, and I enjoy throwing in words not commonly used. Abnegate in my latest story. LOL. I had to look it up myself to make sure the meaning in my head was correct. LOL

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I just wrote this into a WiP:

Multiple megadoses ... over an extended period have undoubtedly modulated the expression of the glutamate transporter gene. As you know, ildeslafine and its metabolytes are chemically similar to glutamate and cellular uptake is by the same receptors, so I extrapolate that my cells, especially in and adjacent to the limbic system, are sub-average in their reaction to the metabolytes ...

I'm not trying to have readers follow the meaning of those words. (Only one of them is made up.) I'm trying to convey that the speaker is a scientist talking in cell bio jargon.

-Annie

 

[SmokingFap]

Today it dawned on me, as I was reading a British-like detective story, that the author/narrator was taking delight in using unusual words. I was taking delight in it too. I've read a lot of stories with this tone or voice (thanks @XerXesXu) but hadn't identified the cause until now.

If I'd been asked, out of the blue, whether an author ought to gravitate to unusual words, I'd have said no. Certainly in my own writing I try to stay clear and accessible, even while spending a lot of energy trying to find the right word. But some authors do use them, to good effect. I'm reminded of a character in another book, an aging (not too appealing) author who repeatedly mourned his cognitive decline by moaning "My words! My words!"

By "unusual" I don't mean you have to look them up in the dictionary, just that they are not common in ordinary discourse.

So here are my questions.

Do you use unusual words in your Lit stories? If so, in all of them? Do they constitute your "voice?" If only sometimes, what makes you choose that style?

Have you seen stories on Lit that use unusual words? References? Do you like it?

Am I correct that the use of unusual words, either in Lit or the mainstream, often gives a story an old-fashioned feel?

Edit:


Here are the sentences that got me thinking about this.

"He knew the source. Murder--its atavistic nature and ineffable consequences--was a hydra.
And...
"Lynley wondered why the man was being deliberately repugnant, wondered what was motivating him to go to such great lengths to develop and then display a side of his character so ugly as to be intolerable."
A Great Deliverance
Elizabeth George

I never intentionally use obscure or arcane language in either my stories or conversation. But there are just some words that have no direct or perfect synonym. Like "reconcile". Not a fancy or complicated word, but nothing else quite communicates what it means. As in, trying to reconcile two disparate, but related thoughts or feelings.

I guess disparate is another one.

 

[SmokingFap]

So is coalesce.

 

[PennyThompson]

For me I try to use different vocabularies for different characters. My doctor character tends to speak more formally, sometimes with clinical language, and less emotional. My college-age main character is more emotive and silly, her edgier friend is a little more aggressive, etc.

I don't think I use a lot of big ol' 5-dollar words, but I do like to have fun with language, some onomatopoeia and silly compound words.

• sproinged
• schlicked
• jilled
• roommate-with-benefits-question-mark
• scareousal
• enbyfriends

In my most recent story, an Indian-American character occasionally lapses into Hindi when she's particularly aroused. I consulted with an Indian author (thanks @verseandworse2 ) to try and get the vocab and tone right, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I've gotten a decent amount of positive feedback and comments that specifically mention some of my word choices, which has encouraged me to keep having fun. Which I would probably do anyway, but it's nice to know that it lands with some people!

 

[Imakewetspots]

When writing, I try to not overuse a particular word. During editing, if I find a certain word is getting repetitive, I use something else to keep the reader from getting bored.

When in actual conversation, I try to adjust my language to my audience. I worked with a couple guys who loved to toss big, fancy words around. In some situations, they’d be misunderstood because not everyone knows its meaning. In most situations, they’d be thought of as a windbag who’s trying to hard to impress. In a few rare instances, they misused the word because they clearly didn’t understand what it really meant. Those were awkward moments in certain situations. Like wearing a tux with your fly open.

 

[SmokingFap]

For me I try to use different vocabularies for different characters. My doctor and character tends to speak more formally, sometimes with clinical language, and less emotional. My college-age main character is more emotive and silly, her edgier friend is a little more aggressive, etc.

I don't think I use a lot of big ol' 5-dollar words, but I do like to have fun with language, some onomatopoeia and silly compound words.

• sproinged
• schlicked
• jilled
• roommate-with-benefits-question-mark
• scareousal
• enbyfriends

In my most recent story, an Indian-American character occasionally lapses into Hindi when she's particularly aroused. I consulted with an Indian author (thanks @verseandworse2 ) to try and get the vocab and tone right, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I've gotten a decent amount of positive feedback and comments that specifically mention some of my word choices, which has encouraged me to keep having fun. Which I would probably do anyway, but it's nice to know that it lands with some people!

I'm not sure I've ever used the word "onomatopoeia" in a sentence. It was hell in a spelling bee. Nice!