Vocabulary

[Jenniferdiana]

hi how are you guys, ( or shall i say writers?) Anyway, do you guys think vocabulary plays a big part in writing? I mean no matter if youre all writing on a blog, essay or working on a book or novel dont you guys think having a small vocabulary will slow down your writing and process? I feel like when i write things or try to write things i usually get writers block or get stuck on what to say or write next because i dont know how to put what i write in to words correctly. haha i think thats why what i write sucks most of the time because i am lacking the nesscities of a great writer. i think if my vocabulary was bigger, i could put what i want to say in the correct format and keep at it because my writing and everything would flow easily. And its not just being famaliar with words, its knowing the meaning of them, haha if you know words and can spell it but dont know the meaning of them, then whats the use of even trying to put them down. So i lack definition there too. I know its not my mind. And not to sound cocky or anything but only honest, i think my mind has a bit of potential of quality and is filled with dep. of knowledge of things, i just lack the nessicities. In other words it is like having the crayons but no coloring book, its like having a pen without ink in it , i dont know, its like having sand but no skills when trying to build a castle with it, so you just sit there playing in the sand with your hands, staring around with your mouth half open. haha anyway you get it. i just hate to waste my mind when i have the potential there to put it to use to grow and make a difference. So how can i get a bigger vocabulary? because i think my writings would make more sense be more powerful and get things done if i just knew more of that stuff.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

hi how are you guys, ( or shall i say writers?) Anyway, do you guys think vocabulary plays a big part in writing? I mean no matter if you're all writing on a blog, essay or working on a book or novel dont you guys think having a small vocabulary will slow down your writing and process? I feel like when i write things or try to write things i usually get writers block or get stuck on what to say or write next because i dont know how to put what i write in to words correctly. haha i think thats why what i write sucks most of the time because i am lacking the nesscities of a great writer. i think if my vocabulary was bigger, i could put what i want to say in the correct format and keep at it because my writing and everything would flow easily. And its not just being famaliar with words, its knowing the meaning of them, haha if you know words and can spell it but dont know the meaning of them, then whats the use of even trying to put them down. So i lack definition there too. I know its not my mind. And not to sound cocky or anything but only honest, i think my mind has a bit of potential of quality and is filled with dep. of knowledge of things, i just lack the nessicities. In other words it is like having the crayons but no coloring book, its like having a pen without ink in it , i dont know, its like having sand but no skills when trying to build a castle with it, so you just sit there playing in the sand with your hands, staring around with your mouth half open. haha anyway you get it. i just hate to waste my mind when i have the potential there to put it to use to grow and make a difference. So how can i get a bigger vocabulary? because i think my writings would make more sense be more powerful and get things done if i just knew more of that stuff.

Usually a good writer is also a good reader. But I guess I'm biased because I have a mastorate in English literature which required me to do a lot of reading over the years. I also have a mastorate in Divinity, which means I have a lot of Christian and theological literature on my bookshelves. Although all my reading has not made me a better person, and some might say that much learning has made me a bit mad, but I enjoy reading. One of my most relaxing activities is with a good book. I love adventure fiction, and I started with Hammond Innes and Alistair Mclean.

I am also a trained typist, cruising around 50-60 words a minute when I get going, so when I write I can keep up with my thoughts while typing.

I was an elementary school teacher teaching 9 and 10 year olds how to read and write, and I guess I learned more about writing when I taught those children, more than what I had learned while doing my university degrees.

I have written several Christian ministry books. I can get my thoughts on paper okay, but I need my friend and mentor to proof read and point out my errors and typos, because I type so fast that errors seem to creep in at times and it is good to get a second pair of eyes to check my work.

To deal with your thoughts about vocabulary, I think that good writing has a simple, straight forward vocabulary that clearly expresses what you want to say in writing. I tend to use fairly short sentences, like I am doing in this post. I don't think that using long, complicated words for the sake of using them is very productive, and would tend to put the reader off. A writer can appear affectatious (big word!) and stilted if he or she uses more complicated words when simpler words will do the same job.

When I have an inspiration, the first thing I do is to get my thoughts down on paper as fast as I can before I lose track of them. This means that I can write large sections of my book in one sitting, and when I have written Christian articles for publication, I have been able to write and finish them in one sitting, usually over a couple of hours. I write how I think. I sometimes think that my writing is prophetic in a way (not predictive) because as I type the words seems to flow out, and I don't seem to have to do a lot of editing of the content.

I think that writing from the heart, using normal language reveals your "voice" through your writing. I know when I am reading a good book, because as I read I see it as a video in my mind. When I read fiction, it is just a clear as if I am watching a video on Youtube. I have written plays as well, and it is like the other way around. I see the action as a video in my mind, and I imagine the characters and write what they say to each other, and the stage directions as I see what they do in my mind's eye.

I think if you know what you are writing about, the vocabulary comes freely. If you are writing fiction, then good writers will say to write about what you know around you and what you have experienced as the backdrop to your story.

This post has gone on too long, so I will stop here, but I hope my thoughts have been helpful to someone reading this.

 

[Jenniferdiana]

Usually a good writer is also a good reader. But I guess I'm biased because I have a mastorate in English literature which required me to do a lot of reading over the years. I also have a mastorate in Divinity, which means I have a lot of Christian and theological literature on my bookshelves. Although all my reading has not made me a better person, and some might say that much learning has made me a bit mad, but I enjoy reading. One of my most relaxing activities is with a good book. I love adventure fiction, and I started with Hammond Innes and Alistair Mclean.

I am also a trained typist, cruising around 50-60 words a minute when I get going, so when I write I can keep up with my thoughts while typing.

I was an elementary school teacher teaching 9 and 10 year olds how to read and write, and I guess I learned more about writing when I taught those children, more than what I had learned while doing my university degrees.

I have written several Christian ministry books. I can get my thoughts on paper okay, but I need my friend and mentor to proof read and point out my errors and typos, because I type so fast that errors seem to creep in at times and it is good to get a second pair of eyes to check my work.

To deal with your thoughts about vocabulary, I think that good writing has a simple, straight forward vocabulary that clearly expresses what you want to say in writing. I tend to use fairly short sentences, like I am doing in this post. I don't think that using long, complicated words for the sake of using them is very productive, and would tend to put the reader off. A writer can appear affectatious (big word!) and stilted if he or she uses more complicated words when simpler words will do the same job.

When I have an inspiration, the first thing I do is to get my thoughts down on paper as fast as I can before I lose track of them. This means that I can write large sections of my book in one sitting, and when I have written Christian articles for publication, I have been able to write and finish them in one sitting, usually over a couple of hours. I write how I think. I sometimes think that my writing is prophetic in a way (not predictive) because as I type the words seems to flow out, and I don't seem to have to do a lot of editing of the content.

I think that writing from the heart, using normal language reveals your "voice" through your writing. I know when I am reading a good book, because as I read I see it as a video in my mind. When I read fiction, it is just a clear as if I am watching a video on Youtube. I have written plays as well, and it is like the other way around. I see the action as a video in my mind, and I imagine the characters and write what they say to each other, and the stage directions as I see what they do in my mind's eye.

I think if you know what you are writing about, the vocabulary comes freely. If you are writing fiction, then good writers will say to write about what you know around you and what you have experienced as the backdrop to your story.

This post has gone on too long, so I will stop here, but I hope my thoughts have been helpful to someone reading this.

well i hate reading. its boring. the book would have to be golden for me to read it all the way through. i think "Pride and Predjudice " was a good book but i saw the movie before i read the book so when i got to reading the book, even though it was really good, i got bored with it because i already saw the movie and reading the book made me lose interest because its like i already know what will happen in the end. So. i couldnt read it because of that. haha but i really wanted to finish the book because it was really well written. but because i already saw the movie i lost interest in finish reading the book..if any of this makes sense. i dont read much books, of course i love reading my bible but sometimes i get bored with that too.. i dont know, i like to write but mainly about spiritual things etc. because that is where my mind is most of the time and where my potential lies..but hey, i am not a writer, i just like free writing and stuff and when i get that urge to write, i must do it because if i dont i will feel bad and well, most of the time i am one who usually has a lot to say... i guess i am also very opinionated...anyway thank you oscar.

 

[TheDaniël]

​

Jennifer, a great vocabulary gives you more ways to express yourself
Jennifer, an exquisite lexicon broadens thy way of expression.

Spoiler

De lexicon bepaald het limiet van iemands expressie.

​

Continue Reading?

Spoiler

Read spoilers after you read the text!

If you have self-taught English, the books you should have by your side are the Bible and the Dictionary. Because the Word of God will teach you and the dictionary will help you.
O, autodidacts of the English language refer always the Holy Scriptures and the Dictionary for thy knowledge. For knowledge comes from God and is recorded.

Spoiler

Zonder moeite kan men geen kennis vergaren. Statig was de taal van de tijd waar manieren de norm waren, bestudeer het. Woorden die vroeger geen gewicht droegen dragen nu gewicht. Woorden die vroeger gewicht droegen dragen nu geen gewicht.

Read the Bible, write down the words you do not understand, learn them and write it down in a different book.
Readeth the Bible of the Lord thy God, should ye not apprehend the definition of a word. Study the meaning of the word and make notations of it. Then afterwards, review your leanings.

Spoiler

Gij dient te lezen van vele verschillende bronnen om te zien welke woorden gewicht dragen. Gij dient te lezen van de bronnen die gij liefhebt, en van de bronnen die gij haat! Bestudeer ook de werken die gij niet liefheeft! Zo weet gij hoe uw werk in ieder geval niet dient te zijn.

I have an exercise for you that will help you if you want to write, trust me. People want to write the greatest of things way too fast.
Heed my words and have confidence in them, practice my following assignment. I think that humans desire overachievement whilst performing their favorite hobbies.

Spoiler

Ikzelf schrijf ook muziekstukken, maar muziek zal ik nooit kunnen waarderen. Muziek kent het ritme, de melodie en de flow. Maar het enige dat ik hoor deze dagen zijn mensen die erover heen schreeuwen alsof zij aandacht te kort hebben.

What would you enjoy more? A Large bag of crisps filled only with a couple of crisps. Or a small bag of very expensive crisps filled to the top.
What would be wiser? Being excited for a nice looking large bag of that promises crisps but disappoints you because it only has two crisps? Or a dull looking small bag filled with the best crisps ever?

Spoiler

In het schrijven ervaar ik het ritme als de leervolle zaken. Want die dingen laten mij bewegen. Het plot en zijn twisten zijn de melodie, die bewonder ik. En de flow represents the word placement and choice, based on the pronunciation. It shouldn’t be a chore to read.

Not everything that you write if you work on a book will be of good quality, otherwise everyone could write!
If it was the pen itself that could compose marvels of literature, what would then be considered unique under all prodigies?

Spoiler

Ik zal u verklaren waarom het schrijven van goede literatuur rechtvaardiger is dan het schrijven van goede muziek. Literatuur is de wil van God.

This is my exercise: First write down a detailed testimony (of truth) or an explanation of anything, how it works, why it is and do this in great detail, stop when you have explained it.
The draft of broadening thy lexicon; make a notation of an explanation that describes in painful detail thy understanding of something. Or write a detailed [truthful] testimony about an event that occurred.

Spoiler

Laat mensen er iets bij voorstellen, leerzame werken zijn daarom saai! Laat mensen de tekst begrijpen, maar speculeren over de betekenis!

Then make it as short as possible, remove all the unnecessary words from it and keep only the truth.
Abolish this lengthy chit-chat and get to the point!

Spoiler

Muziek is een icoon van jezelf. Dat icoon wordt beschouwd door mensen als een idool. Mensen aanbidden dat idool en niet de persoon erachter. De popularieit van muziek laat de wereld zien hoe de mens er aan toe is, wat zij verlangen.

Then rewrite it in a poem.
To make it rhyme is to make it shine!

Spoiler

Melodie is beperkt tot de noten, C tot B en de hoogte van deze noten van C0 tot C10. Alles daarboven of daaronder, we kunnen het niet horen. Of als we het doen, zal het ons pijn doen. De woorden in de muziek zijn altijd beperkt tot de maat. En daarom beperkt tot sylables. Ik kan doorgaan, maar ik zal het niet doen.

Another great tool is to use Google Translate on foreign languages, try it on my spoiler text!

Spoiler

Leuk is het niet, bij de definite van woorden kan je niets voorstellen. Er is geen speculatie mogelijk, alleen de waarheid. Je hebt het of goed of fout, daarom is schrijven lastig. Je moet een goede lexicon hebben anders maak je fouten en dat mag nooit! Het boek hoeft niet perfect te zijn, maar wel foutloos!

My Random Poem

Spoiler

Step one: Write something

Original text:
Indeed writing is hard, it can´t have mistaken and you must ask questions by explaining things and not asking any question. People have to imagine stuff by your text and therefore using tons of words that people do not know the definition off let people turn away from the text, even if it is VERY good. Balance is the key. You can’t reveal everything in the beginning otherwise there is nothing to write about. If people are not excited for an event, then they stop reading. The hype up is SUPER important. Generic formulas won’t work in writing like the do in pop music.

Step Two: Extract the meaning

Writing is a difficult task; you have to be faultless and crystal clear. You can´t ask any questions to the audience, they have to ask the questions themselves. They have to speculate about the situation and using difficult words is risky. Balance is the key, moderation is required. The Hype up is more important than the conclusion. There is no established way to write a book.

Step Three: Create a poem

Writing a book
Faultless the writing and clear is the goal.
The words are inviting, as their secrets unfold.
Brains do the sighting and when it's unsure.
Their interest is dying and they won´t endure.
There are neither certainties nor methods when writing a book.

​

 

[sunshineforJesus]

I do,The more creatively someone writes something the more it draws me in.

 

[afishamongmany]

well i hate reading. its boring. the book would have to be golden for me to read it all the way through. i think "Pride and Predjudice " was a good book but i saw the movie before i read the book so when i got to reading the book, even though it was really good, i got bored with it because i already saw the movie and reading the book made me lose interest because its like i already know what will happen in the end. So. i couldnt read it because of that. haha but i really wanted to finish the book because it was really well written. but because i already saw the movie i lost interest in finish reading the book..if any of this makes sense. i dont read much books, of course i love reading my bible but sometimes i get bored with that too.. i dont know, i like to write but mainly about spiritual things etc. because that is where my mind is most of the time and where my potential lies..but hey, i am not a writer, i just like free writing and stuff and when i get that urge to write, i must do it because if i dont i will feel bad and well, most of the time i am one who usually has a lot to say... i guess i am also very opinionated...anyway thank you oscar.

Hello Jenniferdiana - If you want to increase your vocabulary then read stuff, use a dictionary, write new words down and try to use them in conversation and your writing.
But I don't think lack of vocabulary is your problem. You seem to be able to express your thoughts clearly enough.
You need to present what you have written better. Solid blocks of text switch people off. Take the time and get the habit of writing in chewable chunks, aka paragraphs. Good punctuation and use of capitals also makes for easier reading.
The most important thing is to know what it is you want to communicate and why.
What ever the quality, writing can be very therapeutic for us, so if it eases your soul keep on. But yes as with all things we should always be trying to improve.
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[TheDaniël]

Jenniferdiana and everyone: I have a great solution!
You hate reading texts but love writing them.
Write a lexicon without definitions.
Go scour through a text not reading it but looking for AWESOME words and
save them so that you can use it later.