---

Guest post by: Melinda Copp Become an Author

Tweet

---

---

Creating images in a reader’s mind is what writing is all about. But oftentimes, finding the right words to express the meaning we want our readers to gain can be tricky. Writers toil over their words and nothing seems quite right. And this problem can have several different causes.

Perhaps your vocabulary isn’t broad enough—in other words you don’t know or don’t feel comfortable using the words that mean what you want to say. Or maybe you’re unknowingly writing in the passive voice and so your sentences come out awkward and your meaning is lost. If any of these challenges sound familiar, consider the following tips for finding the right words for what you want to say in your writing.

1. Vocabulary Builders
Heading to the thesaurus to discover new words can be risky—it often results in misuse and confused meanings. But a thesaurus, when a word’s meaning is double-checked against a dictionary, is a good way to build your vocabulary and give you confidence when selecting words to use in your writing. To ensure you don’t misuse any words when you refer to a thesaurus, show your work to someone who can point to unwanted connotations and unintended confusion.

2. Simile and Metaphor
For situations when you need more than just the right word to express your thoughts, you need an image. Simile and metaphor are excellent ways to accomplish this—when used effectively, they create an image in your reader’s mind that resonates beyond what a regular old word can ever achieve. Simile is a comparison using “like” or “as,” such as: that boy is as lanky as a loblolly pine. “Loblolly” is such a great word a reader doesn’t even need to know the tree is tall and thin to understand the simile. “The boy was a loblolly pine amongst shrubs,” is an example of metaphor.

3. Active versus Passive Verbs
If your sentences don’t seem to say precisely what you want them to, then the problem may be with your verbs. Consider the following sentence: “There is a girl walking slowly down the street.” The verb in that sentence is “is walking.” “Slowly” is an adverb meant to describe the way she was walking. Now compare the effect that sentence has with this one: “The girl sauntered down the street.” “Sauntered” does the work of both verbs and the adverb from the first sentence because it’s stronger. Automatically the reader can see the girl on the street.

Finding Your Right Words
Writing is a practice, and the more of it you do, the easier it will be to find the right words to communicate exactly what you want to say to your readers. When you feel stuck, you can use these three tips to write more effectively and find the right words every time.

Related Articles

  Selling Power 26
  The Power of Words
  Watch Your Language - Medical Sales Training
  Wise Words for your Customers
  The Strategic Use of Powerful Words, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  How to Use EEE Representational System to Gain Rapport
  How Positive words can change the mind of the customer
  Only Words
  The Power of Language
  How Emotional Words Play a DeadSerious Role in Google Ads Blog Post Titles
  The 13 Most Powerful Words in Marketing
  The Best Newsletter Templates Are Creative Writing Newsletters
  Create High Impact Copy
  ••••••>Google says "Minimize Your Usage of Stop Words
  Effective or Easiest - Which Path Will Your Salespeople Choose?
  The 3-Most Powerful Words in Sales
  The Art of Communication: The Wealth Creation Is In Your Words
  Keep it Short
  How the One to Three Speaking Ratio Can Dramatically Increase Sales
  Simple Sales - Medical Sales Training

Related Forum Posts

Ad words
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas!
No B.S. Time Management
Re: How To Drive Traffic To Your Site Through Our Forums
Re: An Invincible determination can accomplish almost anything a

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Examples of Eye-Catching Words

The IRS Increased the Standard Mileage Rate

Avoid These Employment Background Check Mistakes

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.