Being intentional with your words

Kia ora,

I had a great weekend away at Arrowtown, just outside of Queenstown. A group of us heaved ourselves around the Sawpit Gully track. Steep on the way up, steep on the way down! The crisp, blue skies and autumn colours were just gorgeous.

In last week’s email I talked about my dislike of scroggin. I was talking to an American friend about it later in the day, and they said, “Scroggin? What’s that? Like, trail mix?”

Yes, trail mix! Apologies for any confusion there. English is a tricky beast.

This is a great example of being intentional with your words. For me, “trail mix” isn’t the right word for that snack. I’d never call it that. But international readers may not know what it means. Sure, they could work it out from context, but a short, parenthetical explanation was all I needed to add that context without breaking the narrative flow.

My latest blog post should have hit your inbox yesterday: Why “thing” weakens your writing (and how to fix it). This is my second post in a series about small words that can weaken your writing. 

From the post:

The problem with “thing” is that it’s a vague word. It doesn’t give readers much of a clue about what the “things” are. Swapping it out for a more specific, stronger word will make your scenes clearer and more immersive. You’ll give readers more detail without them even knowing that that’s what you’re doing.

Hope you’re having a great week.

Cheers,
Deborah

PS. Missed the first post in my small words series? Here’s the link for “decide.”

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The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed, by John Vaillant

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