It's IWSG time again. For anyone who doesn't know, here's what it's all about:
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. The hop, founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh, is this month co-hosted by Sheena-kay Graham, Julie Musil, Jamie Ayres and Mike Swift.
This month I'm going to talk about vocab intimidation.
Generally, I think my vocab skills aren't too shabby. This love of words and playing around with them has got to be genetic (thanks Mum!). But while I read widely, and write a crapload as well, I wouldn't say I tend to learn a huge number of new words. I love words, and I love finding out what some of the wackier-looking ones mean, but I seem to stumble across new words by accident rather than actively seeking them out.
Sometimes when I'm reading an awesome book, blog post, or heck, even a Facebook status, I can experience a flicker (or a flashfire, occasionally) of self-doubt. I read those words and think to myself, Dude, why didn't I think of that? or Ummm, what does that word even mean!?
In particular when reading an awesome book where the language sparkles, where images and scenes stand out in vivid colour in my mind, I might start to feel a little bit small (I'm reading Earthsea right now, and definitely have had some of these "small feeling" moments!).
I guess you could say I wish I knew every single word in the world. Naturally that's an unrealistic goal, but I'd like to at least try to learn one new word a day. The problem will be remembering to do so. ;)
