W is for Word Choice
W is for Word ChoiceWords, words, words. I’m fascinated with the way words carry meaning, sometimes over and beyond their literal meaning. Should one describe a character as thin or slim, for example? Each of those words carry a serious load of baggage, baggage which could be negative or positive, jarring or hilarious.
Word choice affects the way a reader reacts to a text. A wrong word could turn the reader off the story; a well-thought out and careful choice of words however could draw them in, immersing them into a scene, or adds layers to what we persevere about a particular character. Choice of words also creates the tone of the story and the writer’s style and voice.
Effective word choice can often be seen in the opening of several well-known novels:
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) – “It was a pleasure to burn.”
The Witches (Roald Dahl) – “In fairy-tales, witches always wear silly black hats and black coats, and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy-tale. This is about REAL WITCHES.”
The Catcher in the Rye (J D Salinger)- “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”
Night of Rites and Wraiths (book 3 in the Hyllethan Gifts series) opens with these words:
“Night had become her day.
Shael raced after Theis along the moonlit streets of Dragonia City, relishing the soft bite of the wind on her face. The only noise was the faint crunch of their boots on cobbles, Fluff’s panting and the distant sound of drunken laughter. Many of the good and not-so-good souls of Dragonia City were asleep.”
The one line paragraph is meant to create curiosity, “forcing” the reader to read the next paragraph. The linking of Shael with Theis and moonlit streets throws a hint of the romance which the novel will explore in later pages. The build-up of setting, with the ‘soft’ bit of the wind, the ‘faint crunch’ on the ‘cobbles’ and the ‘panting’ all create a tranquil atmosphere reinforced through the deliberate use of voiceless consonant sounds. This tranquillity is however jarred through the ‘distant sound of drunken laughter’ and the following comment about the ‘not-so-good souls’ in Dragonia City, words and ideas which hint at the trouble to come.
As a reader, do you think word choice make certain books unforgettable or are the characters and plot more important? Looking forward to reading your thoughts in the comments below.
Some self-promo!
Hyllethan Gifts TrilogyDawn of Purple and Grey, book 1 in the Hyllethan Gifts series is available from Amazon as a paperback and as an ebook, as well as from Barnes and Noble and Books Depository. Days of Wind and Snow, book 2 is available as an ebook and a paperback from Amazon.
In the Inner Lands, there are three ways sixteen-year-old Shael can get herself and her family killed—by looking like the enemy; by working with the enemy; by becoming the enemy.
When sixteen-year-old Shael unknowingly helps a mortally wounded thief, he entrusts her with delivering three figurines to the lord of her castle. Too late, Shael discovers that the figurines were stolen from the Hyllethans, her country’s feared enemies. And since she cut her fingers on the figurines while handling them, she is now linked to them. Any breakage or pressure on the clay is felt on her flesh.
Despite her reluctance to aid the enemy, Shael teams up with three Hyllethans to retrieve the figurines and break the connection. Shael is caught in the tussle for the thrones of the two lands. To avoid becoming a pawn—or dangle from a hangman’s noose—she has to regain possession of the figurines and face the unsuspected secrets of her lost past.
Three thrones. Two power-hungry mages. One girl standing in their way.
Exiled in Hylletha, sixteen-year-old Shael longs to return to the land of her birth but her brother Iysel, the new, terrifying mage-king of the Inner Lands, wants her dead. Shael’s very existence threatens Iysel’s right to the throne since she is the holder of the magical Gift of Touch, which is traditionally held by the monarch.
To ensure peace, Theis, the young man Shael loves, goes to Iysel’s court to negotiate the reunification of Hylletha and the Inner Lands under one ruler. But when Shael’s young foster brother is abducted and held prisoner in the Inner Lands, Shael has only her limited knowledge of spellcraft to help her stay out of Iysel’s reach, rescue her foster brother and make sure Theis doesn’t bear the brunt of Iysel’s rage.
Complicating matters further, Iysel has won the unexpected support of their wily cousin—the son of the king of a neighbouring land and an extraordinary mage—who has his own reasons for wanting to get hold of Shael.
The stability of the three realms lies in the balance. Faced by intrigue and betrayal from all sides, Shael must choose between protecting the lives of those she loves or taking up her role as princess and heir to the thrones to safeguard the welfare of the people.
Night of Rites and Wraiths
Coming soon!
Caroline
