Guide for Writers: French Phrases

15 unusual words that make writers swoon In a previous post, I wrote about the value of using simple words in place of complex words. Readers are not impressed by the use of complex words; they're frustrated by them. Though I strive to use simple, clear terms in my own writing, there are some words that I am just dying to use. Archaic, unusual words that I have stumbled upon in fiction. If I could only find a way to work them into my next article on surgical checklists. Vex. Example: You take delight in vexing me by deliberately using bad grammar. Portmanteau. Example: That portmanteau will not fit in the overhead bin and must be checked. Naught. Example: Her behavior tends to set propriety at naught. Foible. Example: She loved him in spite of his foibles. Parvenu. Example: He was treated like a parvenu at the country club dinner. Sentinel. Example: Bennett heard a strange noise and asked the sentinel to stay close. Moribund. Example: Kathryn was unsure how to save her moribund career. Beslobber. Nonplussed. Loquacious. Forbear.

Writing is all About the (Body) Language Gestures are one of the best techniques a writer can use to convey emotion or attitude of a character. Especially around dialogue, adding a gesture or look is much more powerful than telling the reader how a character says something. Here are two different ways to write the same moment in a scene: “These are late,” she said disapprovingly. She looked over her glasses at me and frowned. Not only is the second example better writing (no adverb), the writer puts the reader in the shoes of the point-of-view character, and the reader is in the scene, seeing what is happening. Make sure your character doesn’t constantly do the same exact thing. Not only does a gesture plant the reader directly into a story, but action is a way to convey emotion without pounding the reader over the head with on-the-nose telling. Think of a head (well—not severed unless you are writing horror!) And that’s only the character’s head!