Choosing Your Words Wisely

Good Monday Morning, all. My blog is posting a little later this morning because we have a new addition to the household (who's taking up a lot of time)!

Ya'll, meet Zoey.

She's a 12-week-old miniature longhaired dachshund with South African bloodlines. At three months she's no longer a baby-baby, but she did get us up twice during the night to take her outside for a break and she's in constant motion, so we need to be really careful about where she is and what she's up to.

She hasn't *quite* got the methodology down for being a good writing buddy yet. So far this morning she's torn apart an envelope box on the shelf under my desk, found some plastic desk bin legs to chew on (not for long!), and mangled a couple of labels. She's now -- finally! -- asleep under my desk with a couple of buddies and one cat. :)

How has the rest of the household taken her arrival? Wellllll...not with open paws and kissy-licks.

The three StarDogs chillin' at a friends house BP (Before Puppy).
Left to right, Katrina, Maura and Luna.

My three other "StarDogs" have given Zoey varying degrees of welcome. Katrina, a 14-year-old black and tan -- who Zoey apparently decided is her new Mom -- was first to accept her. She's taken the new addition more in stride than the others. Katrina will even cuddle up with Zoey on the couch. She's the least affectionate toward her humans, so go figure.

Luna (8yo black and tan piebald) showed her teeth a couple of times in the first few hours, but is now pretty mellow around her and resigned to having a puppy around. Though she doesn't necessarily like it...and has a "why didn't we ask her first!" attitude.

Maura, (7 YO) though, is still having a very hard time of it.

Maura is an English Cream who was our latest to arrive, and she's always been "the baby." She's my little cuddler and she's feeling very threatened and put-out by the new arrival who is requiring a lot of our attention. She doesn't even want to be in the same room with Zoey, who she seems to consider "that thing." We've had to give her some special attention so she doesn't feel like her world has ended, but I don't think we convinced her of that quite yet. I think she'll be fine in a few days.

I really wasn't considering this much initial heartache from the StarDog pack, since they're all retirees from a reputable breeder who each had several litters of their own and know the puppy drill well. I thought they'd be thrilled to have a little one to look after, but their recent life as pampered little princesses has apparently made them forget their puppy-rearing days.

We've had to adjust, as well. We aren't going to know what a good night's sleep is like for awhile, but little Zoey is so worth it. She's such a smart, happy little doll. And she does keep us entertained...if constantly distracted.

So to finally get around to my blog subject today...Choosing Your Words Wisely.

How Much Vocabulary is Too Much?
[Or...When Vocabulary Attacks]

I have a subscription to Word of the Day, which often offers some interesting new vocabulary words and meanings as well as a few that I don't use that often, but should.

It's always great to expand the language horizon, but is isn't always something that applies well to writing.

For instance, the last three offerings were:

Ineffable  Adjective.
Meaning:
1. Too big or extreme for words to express
2. Not to be spoken of due to its sacredness
3. Indescribable

Otiose  (prounced oh-she-ohs) Adjective.
Meaning:
1. Having no real purpose
2. Useless or pointless

Comeuppance Noun.
Meaning:
1. Deserved punishment or fate
2. Just deserts

Sometimes learning or rediscovering new words is fun, but applying that to my writer's vocabulary is a whole different animal. The general school of thought is it's better to make the words "invisible" on the page--in other words, create prose that flows in such a way that the reader can imagine a living, breathing scene in their heads. The goal is to draw them in so deeply they're no longer aware they're even reading!

To do this, it's important to avoid "stumbling blocks" that interfere with this mental imagery. Some of those obstacles can be unusual or seldom-used words that are more likely to make a reader turn to a dictionary than to turn to the next page.

Though a phrase like "He'll get his comeuppance!" isn't likely to throw a reader off track, tossing in a term like "The view was ineffable" or "His position within the organization was otiose" would probably bring many readers up short and mentally pull them out of the scene.

The majority of us don't tend use such words in our everyday lives, so the meaning isn't often clear.

It's better to try to provide readers with lush mental imagery in their heads, and avoid "Thesaurus-poisoning" by throwing in unfamiliar language that confuses rather than illustrates. That's, well...otiose. And counterproductive.

But there are exceptions when unusual words can be used effectively.

For instance, a character who grew up in a different environment from their companions might throw out words (intentionally or otherwise) that must be explained, perhaps making the person who utters them feel superior. By using unfamiliar words in conversation they force their companions to ask for clarification, either in an attempt to impress them or because they don't consider them an equal. (This was done effectively several times in the non Sci-Fi movie The Natural.) In this way, using the occasional word from an extended vocabulary could help define a character via their character traits.

Another instance might be using one particular unusual or obscure word to describe something significant, and then defining that word by repeating it consistently throughout the story to signify the importance of an object, place, ritual or experience.

Here's an (very off-the-cuff) example:

They dubbed it the Ineffable Interstellar because the distances between systems were so enormous out in the fringes of the Talaris Arm that it was a hazard to navigate. Have an engine malfunction out in that big lonesome and you were pretty much doomed to dying in the abyss. It was the equivalent of Death Valley in space.

The further description helps provide the meaning behind "Ineffable Interstellar," so the term shouldn't pull readers out of a story in the way that: "That sector of space was ineffable" probably would.

Just a little something I'm going to keep in mind the next time I'm perusing the Thesaurus for the perfect replacement word.

Have a great non-otiose week!