Randomness
Jan. 4th, 2011 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laleiaSo I think as a result from reading too much high fantasy (which tend to use slightly archaic words) and from being too obsessed with using big words, I have a tendency to use words in my writing that ... well, they're not mis-used, but I'm using a less well-known definition of the word where, because of the MORE well-known definition, it just confuses people.
For example, my beta thought (and probably still thinks) that when I say "I started awake from a nightmare" I meant to stay "I startled awake from a nightmare" or "I started to wake from a nightmare" where in fact I really mean "start" but the definition that means "to involuntarily jerk/jump". And I kept it "started awake" even though probably every other person to read that story ever is going to think it's a typo when it's not. It's just me being pretentious.
Another example, I recently realized in my story that I needed to change my use of the word "intelligence." My sentence "We will simply have to rely on their intelligence" uses the word "intelligence" in the espionage-related meaning but I realized that the automatic assumption would be of "intelligence" in the smartness-related meaning, and so I had to change it and I was sad.
I guess what I'm saying is, I wish people could read my story, and just know what I meant to say. But of course, the whole point of writing and reading, is so that if I'm really good at writing, they'll know what I meant to say and find it interesting, so they're only confused if I'm bad at writing.
For example, my beta thought (and probably still thinks) that when I say "I started awake from a nightmare" I meant to stay "I startled awake from a nightmare" or "I started to wake from a nightmare" where in fact I really mean "start" but the definition that means "to involuntarily jerk/jump". And I kept it "started awake" even though probably every other person to read that story ever is going to think it's a typo when it's not. It's just me being pretentious.
Another example, I recently realized in my story that I needed to change my use of the word "intelligence." My sentence "We will simply have to rely on their intelligence" uses the word "intelligence" in the espionage-related meaning but I realized that the automatic assumption would be of "intelligence" in the smartness-related meaning, and so I had to change it and I was sad.
I guess what I'm saying is, I wish people could read my story, and just know what I meant to say. But of course, the whole point of writing and reading, is so that if I'm really good at writing, they'll know what I meant to say and find it interesting, so they're only confused if I'm bad at writing.
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no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 09:49 pm (UTC)As for "intelligence"? It depends on the audience--e.g. if you're dealing with children or targeting teens--but given the popularity of spy movies and such? I think most people would figure out you were using the word in the espionage-related meaning.
Plus, it's kind of a funny kick in the head when you read further on and go: "oh, they meant THAT meaning of that word."