How to Use Better Word Choice in Stories

Last Updated: October 22, 2021 References

Word choice, or diction, is an essential part of any type of writing, and learning to use better word choice can greatly improve your creative writing! The more you think about your diction and practice using better word choice in your stories, the more naturally it will come. We’ve compiled this list of tips and tricks to help you start choosing even better words for your next story.

1

Read for at least 20 minutes a day.

Reading regularly increases your vocabulary. In other words, you’ll know more words to choose from when you write stories. Read whatever is interesting and enjoyable to you, whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, short stories, novels, books, or articles. Add variety to what you read to expose yourself to different styles of diction.^{[1]
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Melessa Sargent
Professional Writer
Expert Interview. 14 August 2019.}
- Even if you typically read crime novels and you want to write crime fiction, it’s still a good idea to switch up what you read to expand your vocabulary outside your comfort zone. For example, you could read a sci-fi or fantasy novel once in a while.^{[2]
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- You can even listen to audiobooks when you’re on the go to get your daily reading in!

2

Use a writing app.

There are lots of free writing apps that can help you improve your diction.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Melessa Sargent
Professional Writer
Expert Interview. 14 August 2019.} Download some different ones and try them out when you write. Writing apps help you with the basics like spelling and grammar, but they also make word suggestions and offer alternative sentence structures.^{[4]
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- To find writing apps, search online or in an app store for “writing apps.” Look for ones that have good user ratings and reviews.
- For example, there’s an app called Hemingway that helps you write more like Ernest Hemingway by highlighting sentences that are too long or dense, words that are too complicated, and unnecessary adverbs.
- Some other apps to try are Grammarly, Word to Word, OneLook Reverse Dictionary, and Vocabulary.com.
- There are also vocabulary apps that teach you a word a day to help you further expand your vocab.

3

Eliminate unnecessary repetition.

Variety is the spice of life—and of writing. Highlight words that you use often when you write to identify where you can add some different word choices. Look up synonyms for those words in a thesaurus or brainstorm other ways to convey the meaning you want to get across. Change some of the words and sentences to add more variety to your story.^{[5]
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- When you’re writing on a computer, use CTRL+F to search for and highlight different words.
- Reading a draft out loud can also help you identify passages that are repetitive.
- It’s an especially good idea to eliminate repetition of weak, non-descriptive words, such as “stuff,” “things,” “it,”and “got.” For example, replace “got” with “received,” “obtained,” or “acquired.”

4

Pick words that elicit emotions.

This helps convey what you’re really trying to make readers feel. Replace neutral words with alternatives that have positive or negative emotional connotations. One word changes the entire connotation of a sentence or passage.^{[6]
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- For example, replace the word “looked” with “glared” to convey feelings of anger. Or, replace it with “gawked” to convey feelings of disbelief or awe.
- Keep in mind that stronger words aren’t always a better choice than simpler ones. Always consider the message you want to get across when you’re choosing words. In some cases, “looked” may be perfectly adequate!

5

Use more specific words.

More precise words give the reader better context. Try to replace basic adverbs and adjectives with more descriptive words. Think of other ways you can describe people, places, and things to paint a better picture in the reader’s imagination.^{[7]
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- For example, instead of saying “he was a very average player,” say something like “he was a bench warmer,” which gives the reader an image of the player spending most games sitting on the bench instead of just being an average player on the field.
- Here’s another example: instead of writing “she has a tendency to overcook rice,” write “the rice almost always ends up charred when she cooks it.” The reader can now picture what the rice actually looks like and maybe even imagine the taste of charred rice.

6

Select visually evocative verbs.

Verbs, or the action of a sentence, really bring your writing to life. Come up with 2-3 different verbs that you could use in a given sentence. Choose the best, most descriptive verb for each sentence to make your writing more vivid for the reader.^{[8]
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- For example, instead of writing “the river comes down from the mountains,” write “the river winds down from the mountains.” Changing “comes” to “winds” helps the reader visualize a river bending from left to right as the water flows down from the mountains, instead of just giving them a vague idea of where the body of water is.

7

Choose the appropriate level of formality.

This can be especially helpful when you write character dialogue or thoughts. Think about how certain characters would talk or think about things in real life. Write sentences that actually sound like those characters in terms of formality.^{[9]
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- For instance, a farmer from the deep south in the USA probably wouldn’t say “she was quite mad when I showed up late.” The man would probably speak more informally and with slang. He might say something like “she was right ticked when I got home!”

8

Use fewer words whenever you can.

Getting rid of unnecessary words keeps your writing clear and concise. Keep an eye out for wordy sentences and try to replace them with a fewer number of words that say the same thing. Some of the most highly regarded authors, like Hemingway, are known for using short, to-the-point sentences in their writing.^{[10]
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University of North Carolina Writing Center
UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process
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- For example, instead of writing “I came to the conclusion that…” write “I concluded that…” By removing 3 words from that sentence, you get your point across to the reader faster and more clearly.

9

Limit your use of clichés.

Describing things in other ways is more impactful than using clichés. If you write something that comes to mind immediately, but it sounds familiar, that might be a warning sign that it’s a cliché. If you catch yourself writing a phrase you’ve seen a lot in other writing, pause and think of a different way to say what you mean. Try to rewrite the phrase in a shorter, more original way.^{[11]
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University of North Carolina Writing Center
UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process
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- For example, instead of saying “he was as dead as a door nail,” you could just say “he was dead” to get your point across without using a played-out cliché. Or, if you want to be more descriptive, say something like “he was as dead and as cold as a rock.”
- Another example of a cliché that appears in lots of writing is: “A single tear trickled down her cheek.”

10

Revise phrases later with better words later on.

It’s totally fine if you get stuck with a phrase you’re not happy with. Mark it in your draft and come back to revise it later on. Give your mind a rest and search for inspiration, then rewrite it when you have an alternative that you know is better.^{[12]
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- In other words, don’t feel like you have to choose the best words all the time when you write the first draft of a story. That’s why it’s called a “rough” draft!

Community Q&A

Question

I'm really awful at describing things. Any tips?

Silvana Haynes

Community Answer

There is a pattern for description, for example the method of " Simile+ adjectives, verb with adverb following- into the- adjectives, personification, "with" description and movement words. For example: Like a ball, the blubbery, sizeable tomato lunged swiftly into the lofty plumb tree that lay before it, it frantically darted across the field with its navy green stem as it hung tightly onto the iridescent meadow. If you want, you can search up synonyms for similar words.