WIP Challenge Check-in, Day 7 -- Friday

[linaewen]

I apologize for missing yesterday's check in post! I knew I shouldn't have put off writing it up until "later." Obviously, later never happened. ;-) Thanks to all who posted yesterday's progress on Wednesday's post!

Here's the writing quote for the day:

The difference between the right word and the almost right word

is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. ~ Mark Twain

How has writing gone for you today? Or, if you haven't been free to write as yet, what are your prospects and plans for getting in some time with your fic today?

The "answer if you feel like it" question:  How do you overcome the struggle to find just the right word?  Do you use a thesaurus?  Something else?  Does not being able to get a word just right stop you in your writing tracks or can you move on and come back to deal with it later?

Best wishes today in finding the right words that will light up the page -- and in getting them written up!

Comments

[the_rck]

I'm doing some writing today, and I did some yesterday. With a little luck, I can end this story and start the work of finding a beta reader.

When I can't find the right word, I tend to back up and rephrase to avoid the problem. The only time I use a thesaurus is when I'm trying to come up with a title.

[linaewen]

I'm writing a newsletter for work today, so I'm not sure if that will leave me time to write actual fic. I'm hoping this evening will be a fruitful fic-writing time!

I use a thesaurus frequently, because often I almost know what word I want, but I can't quite put my finger on it, and a thesaurus helps me seek out the elusive word. It also comes in handy when I realize I'm using the same word too many times too close together and I need to find a similar word for variety. I don't always stop what I'm writing to use a thesaurus, however. I will usually put in the "almost right" word in brackets and then come back to it and try to find a better one, so as not to interrupt the flow of inspiration.

[sharpiefan]

Haven't done any writing today - my muse is in hibernation. :(

Right word... It depends. If I can think of a synonym, I'll either use that or dig out the thesaurus to look for the actual word I want - especially if the synonym isn't quite the right word - there can be shades of meaning that mean a synonym might not actually work. For example, if I want the word 'crowd' but can only think of 'mob' but don't want the undertones of rioting etc.

I remember once I was writing a story with the main character watching the moonlight through a chink in a wall. I wanted to type 'silver light' and typed 'sliver' instead. Nice typo, that I incorporated into the description because it worked so well. :D

[barbayat]

I had pretty horrible migraine all day long, I mean all day long 24 hour nightmare. Still got a headache and I really, really hope I feel better soon. Not much hope to get decent writing done.

I've begun using thesaurus.com more often trying to expand my vocabulary and use more fitting ones. However, often enough I use leo.org to find the right English term in the first place (not being a native speaker).

[obsidian_sea]

I waffled on starting a fic from scratch versus using the beginning I wrote previously. Didn't get past that. Maybe I'll try both and see where each leads me.

My most indecisive wording is saved for the end. I keep the best alternates in brackets. If I can't think of a suitable swap at all, it gets colored red. Whenever I've exhausted my own brain, thesaurus.com I go!

[lilly_c]

I finished a fic yesterday, leaving it a day or so before I start editing. Outlined some of the prologue on one of my multi-chapter fics too but I had to re-do the timeline for the entire fic.

I use Read & Write Gold (-aka- TextHelp) and it gives me suggestions when the words aren't quite right, when that doesn't help I'll use the standard thesaurus on word or get mine off the shelf. If I get too stuck on a word, I'll mark it in colour and go back to it later.