Questions tagged [vocabulary]
This tag should be used for questions that deal with different aspects of a writers' vocabulary, such as asking for techniques to expand one's own vocabulary, how to present the vocabulary of characters to the reader or how to check your own word usage so that you don't repeat yourself too often.
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What is the best way to improve the ease of using metaphors?
When I read books, I marvel at the ease with which the author uses metaphors. I'd like to have this ability. Does one get better at writing good metaphors by reading countless books? Or is there a ...
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Writing excercise to articulate your thoughts better?
So quite often I find it difficult to articulate my thoughts. I suspect the reason is that I have an intuition of what I want to ask but not the vocabulary. For example or see the comments or previous ...
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Best way to handle foreign language words and pronunciation guidelines when editing an autobiography written in English?
I am in the process of editing a handwritten autobiography given to me by a now-deceased Romani 'uncle', a family friend who was a display and set designer in Hollywood, New York and Chicago.
Here is ...
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How should you refer to modern words and concepts like DNA and neutrons in a fantasy book?
How should you refer to modern words and concepts like DNA and neutrons in a fantasy book? I see people use DNA and neutrons in TV shows where the setting doesn't allow for it for simplicity sake, but ...
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Using English idioms in a particular fantasy setting?
Using idioms such as "the pot calling the kettle black" in fantasy novels considered to be something that breaks immersion? In a fantasy setting, you wouldn't expect that particular ...
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A single, common English word to describe moving an event up early
I am working on building active voice and concision in my writing style. I must describe an event that may be moved up early from its current scheduling. The only word found that describes this ...
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How to improve my vocabulary to be a writer?
My vocabulary size right now is ~10000 words and I want my vocabulary to be as big as a professional writer, I want to have the ability to manipulate words. I mean SUPERIOR vocabulary.
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Skin Tone Spectrum Glossary
I have a number of folks who aren't beige in my current novel and I'm trying to come up with more precise yet poetic names for the skin tones.
Is there a glossary of the skin tone spectrum ranging ...
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Indianisation of "Thank You, M'am" written by Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
To Indianise the story, along with the name of the character & place, the story has to be adapted in an Indian context and style. Both style and context are critical here.
Langston ...
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How to stop writing from deteriorating mid-writing?
I'm not really sure how to describe this, but whenever I write I tend to start off okay-ish but as I progress it all just falls downhill. I think it's because I get too ahead of myself with my ideas ...
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How to balance an eloquent character/narrator with the need for readers to understand the story
I'm writing a short story told in first person by a character who, an avid book lover, is much more likely to grow her vocabulary by way of ancient books than by talking to other people. Because of ...
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How are the limits of regional vernacularism/slang should be employed in a novel that is true to the area and time?
What's an acceptable amount of non-standard English that can be used to depict the language of a certain area of the South (Louisiana) without turning off readers? My current work in progress has ...
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This is a PREREQUISITE of that, so that is WHAT of this?
Anyone have a sensible word to finish the title above? I'm creating a semantic web, and some of the flip-sides to directional relationships are hard to track down due to their scarce usage. The ...
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How to improve writing style and vocabulary?
I'm working on my first book. I'm not that great in English and sometimes while writing, I feel that I'm not able to give my 100% in dialogues and overall writing style, overall( like adding more ...
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Should my character speak like an layman or a Latin teacher?
'He tracked and updated 182 patient statuses' OR 'He tracked and updated 182 patient stati?'
I believe "statuses" is correct. However, the originator is claiming some sort of Latin derivation as to ...
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What is the best possible way to improve one's vocabulary? [duplicate]
During my highschool days, the subject of vocabulary had not been enforced or rather most students were lazy about expanding their vocabulary not until in the final year when our school principal ...
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Writing a book in a non native language [duplicate]
I have a fantasy story in my head for several years now. I wrote an outline for a book and draw a crude map of the world. I even started writing the first draft, but one of my biggest problems is my ...
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How do I say that someone is black?
Sorry if this is an ancient solved problem to ask in 2019, but I googled about this and Quora isn't really answering me. I searched for the words black and race and politically as key-words on this ...
user37170
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What are the words that were used during Shakespeare's time that are seldom used nowadays?
I would like to write a Shakespearean poem that reads and sounds like a poem written during that time period. However, I don't know where I can find an exhaustive list of words that were used during ...
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What are some tools for expanding your vocabulary? [closed]
I usually use thesauruses, but they're only good for synonyms. I also tried using visual dictionary, but they don't really help you expand your vocabulary that much. For example, if you type flower, ...
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How to describe movement in zero-G?
Within the setting of my personal project (a hard science fiction) I need to be able to describe movement in zero-G extensively.
Because I wish to write a whole narrative involving very little ...
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Use of 'nigh' in fiction [closed]
First post here.
Some background first: I write follow ups to my Pathfinder table session from the perspective of my character. These are shared, and read along with other player's own contributions....
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How do I write implied rape in my book? [closed]
I'm writing a book and I want to write a chapter where the antagonist beats the protagonist and, well, I want to imply that he rapes her without really writing details about him raping her or writing ...
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Using profanity
I'm working on a war novel (sci-fi). My initial plan was for my MC to start out with a very clean language, almost comically clean, and as the plot progresses and the situation gets more FUBAR, his ...
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How can you identify head-to-dictionary words?
More than one of my beta readers feels a certain WIP of mine has too many words that need looking up. Much as I'd like to assume they just have unusually small vocabularies, it's more likely I've ...
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How to use word frequency data?
I just found the 'word frequency' tool in Scrivener's text statistics, but so far all I've done with it is read down the list (it occasionally generates amusing sentences) and check that words like "...
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How to expand my vocabulary? [duplicate]
I wanted to write something for a long time. But what I think is, in writing the choice of words plays a very significant role. From where I can learn this thing?
I think I don't have enough words in ...
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Word for this behavior? Frustrated exhale through the nose [closed]
To describe the action of inhaling through one's nostrils and then
blowing it back out as an expression of frustration?
Or just blowing out through the nose without inhaling with the same ...
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Author-recommendation for styles similar to Lovecraft? [closed]
I enjoy the verbose and elevated use of words Lovecraft is inclined to employ. I'm hoping to read other authors who have a similar style, especially when such a technique is used to create strong ...
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How do I incorporate Vocabulary in my writing that I already know?
I seem to have this problem where I know a lot of words but can't always seem to think them up when I write an article or a story. I know the meaning of most of these words, but when I write, some ...
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Appropriate use of outdated vocabulary and terms?
I'm in the process of planning a story right now, without the intention of sharing it it with others, but I would like it to be comprehensible if I do. It's set in the 1880s and is formatted like a ...
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What is a polite way of saying someone is posh? [closed]
What's way of saying someone is posh that isn't rude? And without being over-aggrandising?
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Overusing "with the aim of..." in a scientific paper
I'm currently writing a scientific report and repeatedly found myself sneaking sentences like "with the aim of..." or "with the purpose of" in my text. Despite how trivial this problem may seem, it ...
je_b
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How find an appropriate vocabulary
I'm a newbie reader and often find myself needing to open the dictionary at least once every few pages. Although I'm a newbie, my vocabulary is at least of an average proficiency so I wonder what it's ...
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How do I explain personal details to my professor without being inappropriate?
I am writing an email to my professor in hopes that I can make up an exam that I missed.
I missed the exam under fairly extreme circumstances, catching the flu and not being aware it was on that day, ...
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Reminding my professor to update a grade? [closed]
I am writing an email to my professor as a reminder to update my grade on a particular assignment. I had an assignment that is graded based on a written essay and a presentation. I submitted the ...
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Using profanities in novels
I've recently read two quite "hard core" novels, both by famous authors. One was erotic fiction and one was a thriller which was very violent and gory. At the end I realized something: the F*** word ...
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Redouble, double, or double again?
I have seen double and double again a lot. Redouble, not so much.
I found out that redouble can mean to double again, to double, or in general to intensify whether that is double, triple, quintuple, ...
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Acquiring vocabulary to write fiction [duplicate]
I am a non-native speaker, learning the English language, and I am already fairly good in reading and writing technical texts. I also enjoy reading fiction books much, but there's one thing that hits ...
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In fiction, is the use of old-fashioned verbage or voice (ex. Tolkien, Le Guin) advisable?
If my genre lies somewhere in the fantasy-fiction spectrum, is the use of a more "dated" narrative style/vocabulary going to narrow my audience to a harmful extent? I've always been drawn to the ...
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How to balance for readers who are not technologically literate
My story features two software developers who discuss computer-based things in the first chapter. It's not a significant part of the story, but it helps to establish who the characters are and what ...
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What is a good alternative for 'Yours truly' while quoting yourself?
I wish to use a phrase/word after a quote, to indicate that it was me who came up with it (i.e. a phrase to quote myself) This is for a blog post. Is there any way to do so without telling ' "......" -...
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How to improve my English writing? [duplicate]
I know the title of this question is too broad. But I think this is the apt title for my doubts.
I am a non-native speaker of English language. Even then I love to write in English whenever I get ...
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Word Clouds and Phrase Clouds
I'm familiar with word clouds (or tag clouds) as used on blogs or on sites like Delicious. It seems to me that a tool similar to that could be of use to writers like me, who don't have an editor, when ...
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What are some rich but respectful ways to describe various skin colors?
Say I have a kid's book with children of varying skin tones: a boy with British/Germanic background, a girl with Indian parents in the middle point of Indian skin tones, a girl with a Germanic ...
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Improving my English
I'm keen to write stories from my imagination. However, my grammar is not up to the mark. I use very simple words, not complicated words like the ones used in novels.
I read many great books, such as ...
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Resource on archaic English
I know there are similar questions around (like this and this) but they don't really have an answer that works for me.
Are there any specific resources that would give me an idea about writing in ...
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How do I improve my knowledge of English well enough to write in it?
I have a long-term goal to write a non-fiction book: a critical book about the current state of humanity's moral methodologies and how humanity is better off dead. Much like Friedrich Nietzsche but ...
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Am i using "he/she" too often during action scenes?
I'm not sure if I am being too overly critical of what I write or if I am actually falling into that "He/She" echo. By that I mean, using "he" or "she" over and over during the action, or combat in ...
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How do authors gain strong familiarity with archaic and extremely rare words?
I keep thinking about this because I've lately been reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, and it's just ridiculous. I have to look up 1-2 words per sentence sometimes, something I'm only used to ...
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