The Economy of Language

By: Matthew Carter

The Economy of Language

By Matthew Carter

Whether you are a seasoned writer, or relatively new to the scene, one aspect of writing is the most important. Can you guess what it is? WORDS! It should go without saying that language, more importantly word choice, is at the forefront of all writing skills. It is important for a writer to understand the message they are trying to convey, and to deliver that message as cleanly as possible.

Oftentimes writers may use an excess of lacklustre words when one impactful word is what completes the thought in the cleanest way. It is important for a writer to utilize their vocabulary to write at their best. The following two sentences describe the same setting, one using enhanced vocabulary, and one using filler words.

It was a very hot day at the beach.

It was a sweltering afternoon in Daytona,

Here we can see that these sentences are conveying the same message with different deliveries. It is important to understand that a story is only as good as it is conveyed. One may write an incredible story with a poor word choice which suddenly diminishes the value of the story. It is common for the first draft to not be entirely polished with the most effective word choices. It is typically in the editing process where revisions to direct use of language is made.

One great way to understand the importance of words is to look at language as an economy. If you had to spend a dollar for every word you used in a story, how often would the word “Very” be used? Chances are you would avoid this word at all costs. There are a variety of key exercises one may use to practice their effective word choice. One warmup one may use is writing in the Haiku format which only allows for limited syllables. Another practice would be to describe your favourite story in exactly 10 words, no more and no less.

Next time you write a piece of work, look over your word choice and who knows, maybe your story will go from very average to phenomenal.