Week of January 13, 2013: Painting with
Words
Wednesday,
January 16—Diction
We’re continuing to look at the language
elements that go into voice. Joyce
Sweeney, my mentor and a fabulous writing
coach, recently led a seminar about
voice in Tampa Bay. We’ve already discussed the
role of tone in voice. Today
we’ll look at diction. Joyce defined diction as “word choice.” Joyce said, “Every word
you choose impacts readers.” Tips she
shared for making stellar word choices include:
§ Consciously choose each word
§ Avoid words that are too lofty, they can make
your writing unemotional
§ Choose words that speak to your reader at their level, but don’t dumb down your word choices
§ Avoid adverbs—they usually indicate you’ve
chosen a weak verb
§ Adjectives can ruin good verbs
§ Word choice is all about revision—keep
revising until you have the perfect word choices
I thought back to some of the books I
mentioned in Monday's post. Let’s look at some of the stellar diction/word choice in
these books.
§ Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
as quiet as a dream; crunched; crisp; little gray
footprints followed us; tree line of pines, black and pointy against the sky;
The move made his face into a silver mask; Who-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo;
I could feel the cold, as if someone’s icy hand was palm-down on my back;
whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl
§ Avalanche Annie: A Not-So-Tall Tale by
Lisa Wheeler
Michisota; Mount Himalachia; Annie Halfpint;
Her voice booms soft as thunder; Her skin feels smooth as gravel; It started on
a noonday in the frigid month of Mace; Yoohoo Valley; They polished up their
parkas; They saddled up their smiles; They scaled Mount Himalachia in the
latest snowshoe styles.
§ Saturdays and Teacakes by
Lester L. Laminack
Every Saturday I coasted down our long, steep
drive, slowing only enough to turn onto Thompson Street, then left onto Bells
Mill Road; Pedal, pedal, pedal; Every Saturday Mammaw was there, sitting on her
old metal glider—criiick=craaack-criiick-craaack;
sunlight poured through the windows like a waterfall and spilled over the
countertops, pooling up on the checkerboard floor; Golden Eagle Syrup; Mammaw
rolled it out on the flour-dusted cloth
If ever there were examples of choosing every
word carefully and precisely, those are the examples. I challenge you to read
more works by Yolen, Wheeler, and Laminack and see how their word choices/diction are
noticeable and distinctive in everything they write.
For You
To Do:
Quick! Name your favorite picture book of all
times. Now go reread that book and note the diction/word choices throughout. I
bet you’ll find that each word has been chosen with great care—that’s one of
the reasons you love that book, consciously or unconsciously.
No comments:
Post a Comment