Building Word Usage

There are many ways to increase your word usage, I would like to think that simply reading is enough but if the person is not going to actively look up words in the dictionary, then he has little chance of making a wider vocabulary, a reality. It is not that an increased word usage means success as a creative writer but a larger word base means the writer has more to choose from and vary the mood or atmosphere of the writing. That would make the writing more interesting and in a large sense feedback to the creative spirit.

I do believe that writers like Steinbeck who used a rather easy to understand lexicon of words in his writing was quite adept at specific word usage and had a wide vocabulary base. It was a matter of choice to write in a certain manner. Writing in complex sentences is not a key to success and neither is the use of heavy words that stick out like sore thumbs and do little to add interest to the story. If one wants to be descriptive then he has to think of atmosphere and not necessarily words. They should follow naturally.

There are several exercises one can take regarding vocabulary building and much rests on where a student’s attention lies. If he concentrates on the verbs and tenses only he may forget that how he puts together a sentence to defend a certain argument is not just a property of knowing whether the action is past or present or whether he uses a direct speech. A larger quantity of words that give specific meanings can give the listener a better pisture of what is said.