Precision in vocabulary

Hi guest,

I'm not sure if memorizing a list would help. That said, many writing handbooks have a list of overly used expressions.

1. One thing that helps me is to be as specific as possible. Take for instance,

Nothing is more fun than driving a nice vehicle on the road.

Now that is not telling my readers much. How nice is the vehicle? What kind of vehicle? What sort of road am I driving on?

How about being a bit more specific.

Nothing thrills me more than driving a sports car on the highway.

Now that's a little better -- the reader now knows this is not just any vehicle; it's a sports car going on a highway.

How about giving our readers a vivid mental picture?

Driving a Ferrari on Highway 123-x for 80 miles an hour -- now that's an experience!

Now that's clear. It's not just any sports car; it's a Ferrari. And we are talking about doing it for 80 miles an hour.

I hope this gives you an idea about word choices -- pick concrete terms that create vivid images in your readers' minds.

Another example:
e.g. You are eating way too much fruit.
Now that's not as clear as: Ten bananas in a row! Jees!

To be able to write like this, you will need to develop a habit of thinking clearly and vividly. After all, ambiguous word choices is a reflection of a confused mind.

2. Another thing that helps is to energize the so-called cliches by using them in a varied manner. e.g. tried and true is a cliche, but even cliches like that can be redeemed with a slight variation, e.g. "the method, once tried, proved true."

I hope this helps!