Friday, July 9, 2010

Friday Friends

I've created a new custom for this blog. I call it Friday Friends. Each Friday, I'll pick an interesting, instructive or otherwise intriguing post from one of the blogs of my followers and post a link to it.

Ready for our first-ever Friday Friend? OK. Here goes:

Our first-ever Friday Friend is K.M. Weiland and her blog Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors. I enjoyed Ms. Weiland's post from July 4, 2010 titled Is the Thesaurus Your Friend? I found the information instructive, even-handed and immediately applicable to my writing.

How about you? Do you use a thesaurus for creative writing?

24 comments:

  1. Hello! What a great idea for a Friday post. I do occasionally use a thesaurus, but not for the sake of being over-wordy. Usually I have the word in mind but need to check its suitability rather than reaching for a longer descriptive.

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  2. Thanks, Valerie! BTW, I enjoyed your independent and free-thinking take on "Twilight." Who knows - that just may be next Friday's "Friday Friend" posting :)

    Enjoy the weekend!

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  3. Hi, Jayne,

    That sounds like a fine use of the thesaurus. Being from the U.K., though, I wonder if your thesaurus might be different from the one that we use here in the U.S. I had a character with a British background in my first novel. The novel's narrative includes a letter that he'd written. In that letter, my character used "lorry" instead of "truck" and "lift" instead of "elevator." With the subtle difference in word usage, I wonder if your thesaurus is different than ours? Interesting consideration; I'll look it up.

    Happy weekend!

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  4. What a great idea. I'll check out that post. Thanks.

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  5. I rarely use a thesaurus. In my early writing days I used it all the time, and my writing came out forced and unnatural.

    Also, I have a blog award for you.

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  6. Just wanted to stop in and say thanks for your comment on my blog. I've been away, so I'm just catching up. Your posts look quite interesting.

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  7. Thanks, Angie! Best wishes to the Christmas story that you just started writing... :)

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  8. Medeia,

    I just picked up the "Trendy Blog Award" that you gave me. Thanks {blush} :).

    Hey, considering the title of your new book, I know a writer in England (Imran Ahmad) and one in Canada (Shenaaz Nanji) who might be good collaborators/contacts for you. The U.K. and Canada might also be good markets for your book, who knows? I'll e-mail the link to your book to Imran and Shenaaz later today. I'll copy you on the e-mail.

    Thanks again for visiting my blog!

    Mohamed

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  9. Thank you, Jodi. I have a profound respect for the depth of your spirituality. Congrats on your daughter's wedding in New Zealand. What gorgeous photos! Now give your body some rest from the inevitable jet-lag :)

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  10. I've visited K.M.'s blog too, and it's filled with great stuff.

    I do use a Thesaurus at times, but I'm very choosy about which words I'll pull from it. Some of the choices are weird!

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  11. Thanks, Mohamed. I'll look up those writers. I'd love for my book to go international.

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  12. Interesting observation from you, Mohamed, regarding a truck, lorry, elevator / lift. The same can be said about mobile phones/ cell phones. Mobile phone is British,cell phone is American, and again messages are text messages in UK, and SMS in other parts of the world. Funny, I heard it is referred as Handy phones in Germany. But they are all the same. Have a nice weekend.

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  13. Great idea Mohamed! I love her blog as well, always very helpful.
    I do use a thesaurus since English is not my first language, it saves my life :)

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  14. Thanks, Julie. I agree. If you just force a word out of the thesaurus for the word's sake and it doesn't fit the tone, texture or context of your piece, it could get weird!

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  15. You're welcome, Medeia. I'm an absolute nobody, but I will help my fellow writers in whatever small way I can.

    p.s. - looks like the e-mail I sent got you at least one more reader in Canada. See? You're already going international :). Congrats.

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  16. Thanks for the additional insights on international variations in word usage, Rama. Good to know, especially when constructing dialogue for characters from those parts of the world.

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  17. Lua,

    I NEVER would have guessed that English isn't your first language. Your blog posts are so well-written, both from a standpoint of grammatical construction and colloquialisms. You'll soon be a famous writer, mashallah. When you are, please don't forget the rest of us.

    Mohamed

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  18. I love using a thesaurus--off to click on the link!

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  19. Christina,

    I think that you'll find the rest of K.M.'s writing tips useful as well.

    I enjoyed reading about your YA Reading Club. Very cool. And don't be intimidated by all those published writers in your club. It's a wonderful learning opportunity and I know that you'll make the most of it.

    Mohamed

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  20. Hi Mohamed,
    Thanks for visiting my NouveauWriter Blog! What a great idea to post about Friday Friends. I use a thesaurus when I am looking for a specific word and not just any word will do.

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  21. Thanks, Jolene. Congrats on writing till 1 a.m. last night. I can't remember when I was so inspired that I wrote through mid-night and into the early morning :)

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  22. Hi, Laura. Yes, the folks who follow my blog have such unique and interesting blogs of their own with post after post of information that I know will be of interest and utility to my own readers. That's what prompted me to dream up "Friday Friends."

    Speaking of useful information, I liked your most recent post regarding what a writer can use w/o permission. Those are some helpful guidelines; thanks for sharing!

    Mohamed

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