What do you do when you just can't come up with the right word or phrase to adequately describe what you're writing about? My web site of choice is thesaurus.com, clicking through synonyms until i find the word i'm looking for (or close enough). But sometimes i feel like that's not quite the tool I need. Does anyone have a resource they use for identifying descriptors, phrases, reactions, etc? or do you just move on and hope to come up with something better when you pass through the content later?
Oddly enough it helps me to talk to myself. Something about actually saying the words out loud seems to get my brain more invested in finding the one I need. I do also just google the closest synonym I can think of and see what I can find that way, but unless it's really important (like I've forgotten a very specific word) I'll often just go for that synonym and worry about it later. It's way too easy for me to get caught up on just one word and lose my flow. Fun aside: the word for when you can't think of what word you want is 'lethologica'
I bounce back and forth between thesaurus.com and the thesaurus my laptop sits on. When I get really stuck, I try a more general google search with a more broad listing of whatever it is that I am looking for. Worst case scenario is consulting the Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedic Dictionary for the really hard words, and the ones I don't know.
When I am struggling that much, I just ditch the word or phrase hunt and describe what I'm thinking with whatever words work, as simple and sophistication-free as it may become. A lot of times throughout the day, I'll have that moment of inspiration and go back for it. Sometimes, those simple descriptions come out better anyway.
We sometimes do clustering on the word or phrase that's almost but not quite what we're looking for. The Writing2 site (from the University of Richmond) describes clustering as "Clustering is a type of prewriting that allows you to explore many ideas as soon as they occur to you. Like brainstorming or free associating, clustering allows you to begin without clear ideas. To begin to cluster, choose a word that is central to your assignment." Their site gives good instructions on clustering. The process is great for all types of fiction writing when feeling stuck and wanting to discover that really satisfying word or phrase that hits the mark.
The joy of being (kind of) bilingual - if I can't find the right word or form the right description in Swedish I just search for it in English and vice versa. It doesn't work as well from Swedish to English, since it usually messes up my grammar. I have really let my English slip the past years As a kid I was always pretentious and wanted to write everything in English (even if it wasn't too good) sometimes it's easier to write a description or find that word on the tips of my tongue in English instead and then translate it - how ever stupid that might seem! While phrases can be quite different it usually helps jog my memory enough to get it right in the end. And if something just won't come to me, I'll come back to it some other day.
I use thesaurus. I ask everyone around me. I ask this forum. I ask the birds. I ask the stars. I find the word or description eventually. I decide that it was not needed. I delete it. Not worth getting stuck for long just for one description or word. Whenever I realize I spend too much of my time (and others') on just a word and description I try to move on. See how the rest flows first.
I'd humbly say [placeholders] + time. Honestly, if you have the luxury of the latter, your subconscious will quite often pull what's needed from your own *taps skull* archives. < Which often isn't a thesaurusy-forced word—but a sentence revision.
Same here. Thesaurus.com or as @SethLoki said, just leave [ ] and come back to it later. You can spend far too much time hung up on one word which will most likely be changed later anyway. I find the best words/sentences are the ones that just come to you from knowhere and the ones you really struggle with are the ones that usually get the chop.
I try to describe the word with as much verbiage I can muster. Sometimes it takes a few days, as when I was looking for the word pretentious, so I wrote pompous, pious, self-centered and anything close, finally I found the word I needed.
It's tricky. Sometimes a simple synonym-style Thesaurus will pop the word up. Other times the Roget's type thesaurus (which deals with related concepts rather than direct word substitution) is a help. Other times just walking away and leaving the space blank will produce the right word when you return. The related problem I have is when I am trying to avoid using a word, usually because I've already used it earlier in the paragraph or on the same page. Grrrr. Can I think of another way to say that? Probably not. I believe in the concept that no two words in the English language have exactly the same meaning. Okay, maybe if you hunt, you can find one or two. However, I operate on the theory that there will be nuances of difference, so that substituting one word for another word is not always a good way to go. Maybe try rewriting the whole passage in a different way? Dunno. Whatever works, I guess.
i totally agree. that's actually a huge pet peeve when i read a book and the word is close to what the author means, but not quite. for example, when a character is supposedly in intense pain but their reaction is a "grimace". it's close... but not quite. i've seen books on Amazon that supposedly list hundreds of different ways to describe settings or emotions or appearances, and I've been intrigued, but not quite enough to make a purchase. i'm starting to think they would be worth a look.
Usually in this situation I know there's a particular word I've heard of, and if I keep searching, or try to think of the sound of the syllables, I'll eventually hit upon it. I use Powerthesaurus, Onelook, Thesaurus.com and Wordnik, and because they all work in slightly different ways, they offer different solutions, so cross-referencing helps a lot. (Onelook's particularly good for being able to search words by letter, etc. If you can remember anything about the word, you can zero in on it.) Also, I try to think of another word or concept that the word I'm thinking of is associated with, or used to describe, and then I'll search for a discussion or encyclopedia entry of that thing, or any other writing that is likely to use that exact word. There are some words that are just on the edge of my working vocabulary, even though they're really useful and well-known. I've actually started keeping a Wordnik list of my own that I add those words to when I think of them, and that's becoming a good list to scan, both to find the odd misplaced word, and just to drill in the words that I want to be able to remember and use more. As a preventative measure, I recommend vocabulary building exercises in general. It'll increase your working vocabulary and build up the retrieval system in your brain. And of course, the more you read, and the higher vocab stuff you read, the more you're building that up. Alternately, if the problem is that you don't know a word for what you're describing, it's probably just best to describe it with a few words that you do know.
I search for synonyms online using a word close to my needs, or search antonyms for a word opposite. My collection of hardcopy thesauruses are collecting dust. Publications containing ideas for descriptors are great for learning vocabulary, but I think online thesauruses are just as complete. To keep from getting snagged on an absent word and risk loosing momentum in my writing, I will substitute a goofy, made-up word as a reminder for one of the edits: ... and Simone flabergated. Or, Tom's undertomulatory reaction... Sometimes you have to write something a hundred times before you finally get something you like. The editing phase is where the real magic happens, anyway.
