Sunday, January 16, 2011

Have I said that before?

Acutely conscious that I need to avoid overusing specific words, I tend to obsess with my Flip Dictionary. Hmmm. Alternate words for 'walk?' My heroine cannot always march. She's not in boot camp.

Can she saunter? Jog? Amble? March? Parade? Patrol? Perambulate? Promenade? Ramp? Roam? Flounce? Pace? Plod? Saunter? Shuffle? Slink? Step? Stride? Stroll? Strump? (I like strump!) Strut? Swagger? Totter? Trail ? Traipse? Tramp? Traverse? Tread? Trudge? Wander?

Finding the balance between variety and practicality. That is the question.
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4 comments:

  1. Paula MartinJanuary 16, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    Sometimes it's better to use the simple word 'walk' rather than struggle for synonyms. I've read books where I've felt the author has swallowed a thesaurus!

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  2. Francine HowarthJanuary 16, 2011 at 2:12 PM

    Hi Ana,

    Hee hee, I guess it all depends on the heroine's choice of footwear. All the "alternatives" could feature for differing terrain and circumstance of weather conditions.

    best
    F

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  3. Debra St. JohnJanuary 16, 2011 at 2:30 PM

    Ana,

    So true! Sometimes the thesaurus feature is great...other times it may cause us to 'overwrite'.

    (But I think your heroine should defnitely perambulate!)

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  4. Paula MartinJanuary 16, 2011 at 3:43 PM

    I'd like to use the word 'squelch' sometime - squelching through mud is beautifully evocative - especially in England's Lake District which is my favourite setting for my novels. And I should know, I've done my fair share of squelching there!

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