Using Unique Words

[gordo12]

One of the things I like about Grammarly is it keeps track of stats for you. For instance, last week, I wrote 57,635 words with 84 alerts for mistakes.

But the stat that concerns me: unique words.

3,159 unique words. Higher than 98% of users.

Roughly that's 1/18 words and seems to violate the KISS principle.

But at the same time, how do you know a word is unique and others don't use it?

I've had comments from readers on words. One wrote last week he never expected to see the word discombobulated on Lit. Apparently, that was a milestone for him.

Do you pay much attention to issues like that, or am I overthinking things?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Do you pay much attention to issues like that, or am I overthinking things?

No. Yes.

Write to your own literacy level. If we all dumbed our writing down to the lowest common denominator, we'd just have dumbed down writing.

Send crayons .

 

[Rustyoznail]

No. Yes.

Write to your own literacy level. If we all dumbed our writing down to the lowest common denominator, we'd just have dumbed down writing.

Send crayons .

As above. I see that comment with Grammarly as well. I also have an account attached to my personal email and it constantly asks me if I'm taking a vacation. I wonder if the stats calculator is also looking at dormant accounts like mine.

Also, think about what you're writing. There's a whole swag of words that the usual writer wouldn't have in their stories.

 

[SamScribble]

As a rule I try to write ‘the cat sat on the mat’. However, sometimes (but not often) ‘discombobulated’ is the right word.

One reader gave one of my stories five stars because I was able to slip in ‘pulchritudinous pudendum’. Sometimes, there’s just no better way to say what needs to be said.

 

[NotWise]

One of the things I like about Grammarly is it keeps track of stats for you. For instance, last week, I wrote 57,635 words with 84 alerts for mistakes.

But the stat that concerns me: unique words.

3,159 unique words. Higher than 98% of users.

Roughly that's 1/18 words and seems to violate the KISS principle.

But at the same time, how do you know a word is unique and others don't use it?

I've had comments from readers on words. One wrote last week he never expected to see the word discombobulated on Lit. Apparently, that was a milestone for him.

Do you pay much attention to issues like that, or am I overthinking things?

What does Grammarly mean by "unique word?"

I'd assume that among your 57,635 words (impressive output by my standards), there were 3,159 different words, many of which were repeated. If that's higher than 98% of Grammarly users, than your English is diverse.

It could mean (as you suggest) that the words aren't used by other writers, but that wasn't my first reaction.

I don't really see how that violates KISS. I guess it depends on what the words are. If you write dialog with slang or in dialect, then that will add a lot of unique words. If you try to avoid repetition by mixing in different words for the same thing, then that will add new words. Unless you go an extra distance into dialect and slang, then I don't think either of those violates KISS.

If you use five-syllable words where two syllables will work then maybe that violates KISS, but so what? It's your voice. Use it.

Does Grammarly give you a reading level?

 

[SimonDoom]

But at the same time, how do you know a word is unique and others don't use it?

That's not what unique means. It means you used that number of different words in your story. The rest were repetitions.

98% means you repeat yourself less than 98% of writers that use Grammarly. Sounds good to me.

That doesn't in any way violate KISS. It means you might be more precise in the way you use words than others, and that in 5 different situations you use just the right word for each situation rather than settling for one word that applies, more or less, to all 5 situations.

 

[TadOverdon]

"Ebullience." That's a nice one.

 

[Acktion]

Pish. Tosh.

You have a story to tell. Think, but don't overanalyze into inactivity. Tell it to the best of your ability. And if the intellectually understimulated find some elucidation whilst swinging the club between their legs, so much the better.

 

[lovecraft68]

No. Yes.

Write to your own literacy level. If we all dumbed our writing down to the lowest common denominator, we'd just have dumbed down writing.

Send crayons .

That's an arrogant statement suggesting your literacy level is higher than the common denominator meaning you see yourself about it.

As is always the case, bragging pretty much proves the opposite of what you're bragging about.

 

[Bramblethorn]

What Simon and NotWise said: "unique" doesn't mean nobody else is using those words, just that your story had a vocabulary of 3159 different words.

Further to that, Grammarly is used heavily for non-fiction writing and there's no obvious reason to expect that the vocabulary within a business proposal or a college assignment would be the same size as a fiction story of equivalent length, so I'm not sure the "more than 98% of users" stat is terribly meaningful.

I usually write in whatever style fits the characters and feels best for telling the story. If I use an esoteric word here or there, well, it's never been easier for people to look those up as they read. If they don't want to do that, I am probably not the right author for them.

 

[lovecraft68]

I do try to stick to what I'd consider every day language and usage. There are times for some longer or perhaps fun words, but I think its an issue if the reader trips over the word and has to go back and either look it up, or just go by the context its used in, both are speed bumps.

I want to tell an engaging story people can enjoy and do so without needing a thesaurus handy.

Its also not a question of flat out literacy, as much as the way people themselves speak, their general reading habits, perhaps they region of the country some words are not used as frequently in some areas as others.

I also take into consideration that we have a lot of English as a second language readers and English can be tricky enough without throwing in some $10 words

I try to find different words in sex scenes to not be redundant, we know there are only so many, but as for the rest of the story, I see nothing gained by trying to show off my vocabulary because I need people to go 'wow, that's a big word.

The people who do that are the same people who drive over sized pick up trucks to compensate for...well, we all know what.

Another instance of just write your story your way and in your words. Focusing on a grammar programs stats is as useless as focusing on lit stats.

 

[gordo12]

Further to that, Grammarly is used heavily for non-fiction writing and there's no obvious reason to expect that the vocabulary within a business proposal or a college assignment would be the same size as a fiction story of equivalent length, so I'm not sure the "more than 98% of users" stat is terribly meaningful.

I hadn't considered that but it's a good point.

What does Grammarly mean by "unique word?"

I'd assume that among your 57,635 words (impressive output by my standards), there were 3,159 different words, many of which were repeated. If that's higher than 98% of Grammarly users, than your English is diverse.

I threw an 18,000-word story into editing so that may have skewed those stats. Still, I've been doing a lot of writing and editing.

Does Grammarly give you a reading level?

Yes. And I'm usually right down in the 4-8 category.

 

[NotWise]

Yes. And I'm usually right down in the 4-8 category.

So you aren't throwing in too many odd, five-syllable words. I don't think KISS is something for you to worry about.

 

[ElectricBlue]

As a rule I try to write ‘the cat sat on the mat’. However, sometimes (but not often) ‘discombobulated’ is the right word.

One reader gave one of my stories five stars because I was able to slip in ‘pulchritudinous pudendum’. Sometimes, there’s just no better way to say what needs to be said.

Exactly and precisely, the mat enabled feline replied, bobbing its discoms repeatedly.

 

[PennameWombat]

Pish. Tosh.

You have a story to tell. Think, but don't overanalyze into inactivity. Tell it to the best of your ability. And if the intellectually understimulated find some elucidation whilst swinging the club between their legs, so much the better.

I only have Word and its built-in Readability analyser on my work laptop and my Lit stories are air-gapped from that Google Docs for some reason beyond my pay grade removed their equivalent built-in so I only get Readability scores if I go chase them.

That said, I don't go out of my way to use obscure language, but as many of my characters are University students in fields like comp sci, math, etc., well, some level is unavoidable. But in one story I had an on-the-surface mismatched M/F couple (A Dream of Age & Beauty). But the key to them meeting was when the M made a geeky reference to the Cthulhu mythos and the woman threw it back at him. Which meant I used the word 'chtonic' about eight paragraphs in . A bit later, Takashi Miike's Audition was pulled into the conversation ("Kiri, kiri, kiri") and provided a running theme, if you know the movie it would add a bit but I tried not to make that so it wouldn't distract those who've not had the absolute pleasure of seeing it.

It being my second-most-ever commented on story (seven against eight), these are two (both copied verbatim):

Except the parts where you left the English language behind. Afraid I could not understa nd any of your references to whatever they were.
Next time add to the unnecessary blurb at tge start yhat this dtory contains unrecognizable words, expressions and references.
Had to give up during page 1. Shame because the story held promise.

and

loved it...learnt three new words, expressions. doesn't happen normally. i love language.

It's also one of my few stories where the MCs are Australians in Australia, so there is some slang and Australian English usage, but that's quite mild (except the Rugby Super league War reference, that'll mystify even a few Aussies.)

As a note, given there is nothing explicit in the first section, I read that in a local writer's workshop, because, why not. After, the conversation amongst the attendees included this:
"Are your characters autistic?" - a fellow attendee, a fortyish Australian male.
[Me trying not to say 'what the fuck?' by staying silent and blinking rapidly.]
"No, I think they're just tragics." - a second fortyish Australian male.
"I hate this, she's just a geek boy's dream girl." - fortyish Australian female.
I then explained the Cthulhu and Miike references and readily agreed they were tragics, that was the point. I was unsure but had the definite feeling they were silently trying to figure out how to secretly send someone to call up the local mental health authorities on me...

 

[ScrappyPaperDoodler]

Like many have said, I think the vocabulary should match the story and its characters.

One thing I sometimes worry about is keeping the work accessible to readers who speak English as a second or third language. There are quite a few of them on Lit and I want them to enjoy the work without having to reach for a dictionary.

 

[Emirus]

PREVIOUSLY POSTED BY LOVECRAFT68

“I do try to stick to what I'd consider every day language and usage. There are times for some longer or perhaps fun words, but I think its an issue if the reader trips over the word and has to go back and either look it up, or just go by the context its used in, both are speed bumps.

I want to tell an engaging story people can enjoy and do so without needing a thesaurus handy.

Its also not a question of flat out literacy, as much as the way people themselves speak, their general reading habits, perhaps they region of the country some words are not used as frequently in some areas as others.

I also take into consideration that we have a lot of English as a second language readers and English can be tricky enough without throwing in some $10 words

I try to find different words in sex scenes to not be redundant, we know there are only so many, but as for the rest of the story, I see nothing gained by trying to show off my vocabulary because I need people to go 'wow, that's a big word.

The people who do that are the same people who drive over sized pick up trucks to compensate for...well, we all know what.

Another instance of just write your story your way and in your words. Focusing on a grammar programs stats is as useless as focusing on lit stats.”
———————————————————————

I don’t always agree with Lovecraft, but then again I don’t always agree with other commenters, and some people I never agree with because, in my opinion, their comments are ludicrous.

However I do agree with the points Lovecraft makes. I try and write a story that a reader will enjoy without having to stop reading to search for the meaning of a word. I don’t put a word or phrase in just because I like it. I put it in because it fits with the story. If a reader has to search for its meaning I can’t help that. I write a story I enjoy writing and hope another person enjoys reading it in the same light.

Despite having visited America many times I sometimes come across a word or phrase I don’t know so I look it up. That’s not the fault of the writer. As an English writer if I do something similar and an American, or any nationality,has to look up a common word or phrase used in England on a daily basis in the UK that’s not my fault.

I write a story using my own vocabulary, words suitable for the story and don’t make any effort to “dumb it down” which would be an insult to the reader or try to give the impression I’m really clever. Smarter than I actually am. I refer you to my signature that’s remained unchanged from my first post.

I do try and write each sex scene differently which is difficult. Not least because I find writing sex scenes very difficult anyway. You’ll never find a sex scene in one of my stories running to thousands of words. But I do my best which I’m sure is what every writer does.

 

[TadOverdon]

Right now my concerns about vocabulary are two: reducing my use of adverbs to a minimum and getting rid of at least some ridiculous porn synonyms. It might be a good thing to avoid repetition, but a penis is a cock is a (one time out of every ten) prick and that's that.

 

[Emirus]

One of the things I like about Grammarly is it keeps track of stats for you. For instance, last week, I wrote 57,635 words with 84 alerts for mistakes.

I've had comments from readers on words. One wrote last week he never expected to see the word discombobulated on Lit. Apparently, that was a milestone for him.

I’ve never used Grammarly, or any similar program, and I doubt I ever will. But that’s personal choice and if other writers find it helpful why shouldn’t they use it? I like to rely on my own ability and, if in any doubt about something, I check with google. That doesn’t mean mistakes don’t slip through to a published story of mine but very few.

As the person who made the comment in which the word “discombobulated” was used I just want to clarify a couple of things Gordo seems to have misunderstood about what I wrote. After reading some comments on another thread I decided to read one of his stories and although the only category we have something in common is Romance I decided to read, for some unknown reason, his only story in Erotic Horror. I’ve copied my comment below and as you can see I gave it 5.

……….
“That was fun. . I don’t read horror stories or watch horror movies because I find them humorous and I know that’s not supposed to be the case. So for the first half of the story I was laughing and then the tone altered as she changed from the poor girl raped by the devil to becoming evil herself. The bit with the snake was revolting, which I’m sure you intended, and got your point across.

I did enjoy the story but, and I’m possibly/probably wrong, a sequel would have to be good and not turn out to be a cliche and detrimental to this story. I hope I’ve explained that correctly.

A few mistakes which an editor would have picked up on regarding using the wrong word, spelling and punctuation but nothing serious.

I never thought I’d see the word “discombobulated” in a story on this site for that.

Having dealt with the pro’s it’s only fair to deal with the con’s. I don’t come from the southern states but I have spent a lot of time there and have to agree with a previous comment in respect of “ya’ll” and the use of colloquial outside of speech, which kept interrupting my concentrating on reading.

But, on the whole, I did enjoy it and thought it worth a 5.”
……….

I think Gordo misunderstood when I wrote I never thought I’d see the word “discombulated” in a story on this site. I gave it a thumbs up for him having the courage to use a word which I know the meaning of (although that’s obvious because I made the comment) but which I personally think many readers would have to look up. Perhaps I’m wrong about that but we’ll never know.

I don’t understand the comment “apparently that was a milestone for him.” Perhaps he thought it was the first time I’d seen an unusual (?) word used in that way. Which would be a misconception because I have, on many occasions, seen a word in a story and wondered why the writer used it. I would think many people, not just writers, will have done the same. Perhaps I should have made myself clearer and the the misunderstanding wouldn’t have occurred.

But, as you see, overall I liked the story which is why I gave it 5. I hope that’s cleared up my thinking behind Gordo using “discombobulated.”

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Right now my concerns about vocabulary are two: reducing my use of adverbs to a minimum and getting rid of at least some ridiculous porn synonyms. It might be a good thing to avoid repetition, but a penis is a cock is a (one time out of every ten) prick and that's that.

Heh - I could have written this! One prick to nine cocks, maybe one in a hundred references can use dong or shaft.
A good verb is generally better than any adverbed verb.

And however hard I try, half my editing involves getting rid of the word 'and' and making shorter sentences.

Some stories I try to make as clear as possible, others I'm playing with dialects and dialogue, so there will be words people may want to look up but should be able to guess from my context.

Eg someone recounting a story of their sort-of boyfriend walking in while being fucked by someone else;
Listener: "You must have been fair scunnered!"
"Hm? Nah, *not* embarrassed, actually, once I realised it was him and..."

My beta reader commented on the start of that story "I like the way you insert the word 'bloody' into the first paragraph so readers know it's British!"
It was actually pure coincidence, but I figured it was a good marker to readers they ain't in America any more, Toto.

 

[Emirus]

Right now my concerns about vocabulary are two: reducing my use of adverbs to a minimum and getting rid of at least some ridiculous porn synonyms. It might be a good thing to avoid repetition, but a penis is a cock is a (one time out of every ten) prick and that's that.

I think you are being generous to men in saying one time out of every ten is a prick. I’m sure it can’t be that low and I’m a man. But I’ll accept the fact I’m one of them. lol.

I like the Lee Child quote in your signature. Having read all the books I hope everything continues the same now his brother is writing them. I assume his brother has had some input to recent books, as well as reading every story, and I would also assume he’ll give each book by his brother a read before it goes to the publisher. Unpaid plug for Jack Reacher over. lol.

 

[ElectricBlue]

And however hard I try, half my editing involves getting rid of the word 'and' and making shorter sentences.

"and then" is one of my standard 'find and replace' word combos. I've almost got myself trained not to even write it in the first place - it was like a Tourette's tic at one point.

As you say, a full stop and another sentence can be just the thing; sometimes .

 

[TadOverdon]

Heh - I could have written this! One prick to nine cocks, maybe one in a hundred references can use dong or shaft.
A good verb is generally better than any adverbed verb.

And however hard I try, half my editing involves getting rid of the word 'and' and making shorter sentences.

Yeah, the cock can be reduced to its constituent parts - shaft, knob. I can deal with an occasional "iron-hard" shaft, I guess, but am growing suspicious of its "steely" cousin. Why the distinction? No idea.

I never think of "dong," but it might be a good occasional alternative to "dick." I use words like dick, boobs, etc. in character dialogue and interior monologue. Not so much in narration.

Short sentences are good. That's what they tell me.

I think you are being generous to men in saying one time out of every ten is a prick.

LOL

 

[NaomiDPlumm]

Though memmily blitt each day...

But I guess zooglobble that way...

Why does my queckery biffle you so?
Where will this ezzleboo dornut go?
What do explectionary inyews know?

When will you yuddle for me?
Nobody beezifies me
Nobody febbin ud
Kibblezy deen voo nizee!

I hate being misunderstood.

-Sandra Boynton

 

[NaomiDPlumm]

Yeah, the cock can be reduced to its constituent parts - shaft, knob. I can deal with an occasional "iron-hard" shaft, I guess, but am growing suspicious of its "steely" cousin. Why the distinction? No idea.

LOL

You are obviously concerned about the environment and wish to reduce your carbon footprint.

Just be careful, iron is brittle.