The Benefits of Having an Extensive Vocabulary

I’m sure you would have met pretentious specimens who love to pontificate pompously, rendering themselves odious to us common folk — this post is not about them.

Have you ever wanted to say something — something that you could only feel and did not have the words to express, resulting only in a breakdown of communication and lasting frustration? Have you ever felt as if you say the same thing over and over again — in exactly the same words — and that your existence is defined by those few words that you repeat all the time? Then this post is for you.

This article would like to address the common reader, who goes about life in the most ordinary way, doing ordinary things. There may have been times when the reader would have liked to express herself, something that she felt, but lacked the words to do so - leading to a breakdown in communication, and resultant frustration. It is as if her life is limited and her experiences are restricted to those words in which she feels capable of describing them.

This was something hypothesised by George Orwell, in his work, 1984, that language constructs reality. This essay would like to take that one step further, and analyze how this constructed reality could be further diversified with an enlarged vocabulary.

Consider the English language. It has been blessed, during its developmental stage, by receiving multiple synonyms for the same word from various languages, which eventually took on different connotations. This allows the speaker to sprinkle their discourse with nuances and shades of meaning - conveying meaning in a fashion that is more precise. This can happen only when the speaker possesses this linguistic knowledge. This benefit is not limited to the English language, since it addresses the link between language and expression.

Language is a repository of culture. So it follows that the more extensive the vocabulary, the deeper the knowledge of the culture that the language corresponds to. Exposure to various facets of a culture expands the mind, and refines it.

Again, the inference one could draw from this, is that a diversification of vocabulary would enlarge one’s worldview.
These are but two obvious benefits, capable of subtle, yet positive influence. With more thought and study, one can easily find more. Though these words might seem to be too elaborate to be a matter of daily usage, getting acquainted with them is not something a speaker would regret. Having the perfect thing to say might come in handy, once in a while. In one way or the other, it is an improvement, if only to aesthetically spice up the mundaneness that one comes into contact with in adult life.

That said, one doesn’t want to turn into the person mentioned in the first paragraph, for obvious reasons. Unless, of course, the reader wishes to take tea at a select club, with her pinky finger held at an angle of ninety degrees from the tea cup.

Get your brain working and beat Alzheimer’s, unleash your creativity, do whatever you like, as long as you don’t turn into Mr. Collins, polishing a bombastic turn of phrase to impress a Miss Elizabeth, who far from appreciating the niceties of your conversation, gets put off and runs away from your proposal.

Six Things I've Learnt From Writing The Legend of Arianna

Here are six things I've learnt during the course of writing my first book, The Legend of Arianna:


1. Writing is hard work. 

I knew that before I started, of course, but in a vague, misty way, where it didn't interfere with my reality. It only hit me after I became serious about it - that was about seven chapters in.

2. Editing and querying is even harder

Editing is nitpicky work, especially if you do it by yourself, and preparing submission packages is tiresome, since each publisher requests a specific one according to their requirements. No effort goes waste, however, since at the end of it, you are left with a brand new baby book.

3. It scares you, and that's a good thing.

Managing a story that's any longer than 55k words with multiple plotlines is like changing a diaper for a 20-foot tall wriggling baby. You know you'll get kicked in the face at least twice, but if you want to finish your job, you buckle up and do it, no matter how terrified you are.

4. There's a lot of guilt involved.

There are days when you slack off when you know you shouldn't. It's okay to rest up in between, you know that, but there is a niggling feeling of being too self-indulgent, especially when you're behind on your writing schedule. You know you can produce more. Somewhere deep down, you know you can write better.

5. Anxiety, anxiety, anxiety!

Does this word go here? Have I spelled it right? What am I thinking? I don't know how to write a book! What am I even doing? They're going to hate it. Nobody would want to read this stuff. What if my friends are just being nice not to hurt my feelings?
It's okay to feel these once in a while. Just don't get bogged down by them, so much so you develop a mental block, and never sit down to write again.

6. Writing is beautiful

When you write, you breathe through your words. You create. You destroy. You get to live a whole new life, go on a new adventure, and better yet, share it with your readers. Only creating a work of art can make you feel things you never thought possible.

In the end, writing becomes a habit, a familiar face you see everyday. If a day goes by without it, it feels like something is missing. Being a writer is hard, but not being one is harder.