Sometimes I search for just the right word. I’ll be writing, words flowing freely, and then I stop. The word I want to use eludes me. I know there’s a word that denotes the exact feeling or movement or person I’m trying to describe but I can’t think of it. I put down a similar word and use the thesaurus. Back and forth – this word, that word, another word. Most times, I do find the perfect word. If it remains elusive after 5 or 10 minutes of searching, I leave a blank space in the manuscript, confident the word will come to me later. I don’t want to disrupt my writing flow.
When I’m writing a description and the words won’t come, I use other means.
I was trying to describe a playground. I could see in my mind’s eye the equipment and the kids but I couldn’t get the description right. So, I said aloud – just me and my cat in the room – “Jenny and Mike walk outside and see kids on the swings, the teeter-totter, monkey bars and slide. Little boys are running around. The playground pulses with energy and joy.”
This is what I wrote: Jenny laughed as they walked out to the playground. Kids clambered on the jungle gym while smaller kids stood in line for the slide. One little girl slid down squealing, pigtails flying. A little boy stood on top of a green plastic pipe tunnel; as she watched, an adult rushed over to cajole him down. He waved his arms, obviously unwilling to abandon his perch. The swings were full, and kids raced around everywhere. A group of girls, age 6 or 7, stood to one side talking animatedly.
Jenny laughed louder as she felt the joy and energy emanating from the kids. Despite the reality that all these children needed a home – a fact that saddened Jenny momentarily – this was a happy place. She wanted to take them all home. How could you ever choose when they all needed parents?
Another tip is to say aloud: “What I’m trying to say is…” And then you describe it aloud. You can also draw the scene and then describe your drawing. I’ve done that when building a town.
“What I’m trying to say is…”
For emotions, I’ve heard people use an emotion thesaurus. Sounds good to me although I don’t have one of those books yet.
I’m sure there are other books and tips to find the right word. What helps you find the elusive word or description?
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The Message Pub 
Good ideas. All writers know the feeling of coming up empty handed when you can’t find that right word.
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I’m thankful for your tips. I struggle with finding the right words often. For me, it happens more so when I try to capture what my mind raced with all night long. In the morning, each and every wonderful word seemed to disappear into thin air when I grab the pen to write them down.
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I’m glad you find my posts useful. And, yes, I can be creative in my thoughts, too, only to be stymied when I sit down to write. It happens.
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Yes, I did. And thank you for confirming the ‘normalness’ of that feeling.
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Such wisdom that can only be gained by an extensive amount of experience, self-reflection, and an inquisitive mind. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your lessons-learned and insight!
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Thank you for your kind words. Glad you stopped by, Brooke. I look forward to reading your posts and conversing.
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You as well!
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I’ve use The Emotion Thesaurus to get ideas for describing a person’s body language in different ways. I tend to rely too much on eyes and smiles.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43666740-the-emotion-thesaurus
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That’s on my book list to get. I think I first heard about it from your blog.
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