The most infuriating negative review I ever received insinuated that I essentially wrote my book using a thesaurus. Worse, the reviewer doubted that I even understood the definitions of the words I chose. It's a stretch to expect a writer to know words! Cuckoo, in fact.
If a reader doesn't enjoy my books, that's fine. I long ago gave up trying to please anyone but me. But this woman's review puzzled me. See, I'm not a "fancy" writer; I'm the "Everyday Joe" kind. I write stories about people living in ordinary, middle class circumstances. None of my characters are philosophers or scholars. They talk the way people talk. They tell their stories (I write in first person) the way one's neighbor would tell a story.
My books might be better, in fact, if I did rely on a thesaurus. (It would be kind of fun to write a whole story using only a thesaurus ~ but I guess Joey already did that once on "Friends".)
Do I like words? I love words. When I hear someone utter a word I'm unfamiliar with (yes, even at my age that still happens) I roll it around inside my brain, ponder it; especially if I like the way it sounds. I never look up a new word's definition, because I'm smart enough (believe it or not, reviewer) to suss out its meaning from the context. Rarely, if ever, though, do I find myself using that particular word in my writings. Because it probably doesn't fit.
I'm no genius, but I understand a few things about storytelling. A wrong word choice can take a reader out of the story. Do I use a thesaurus? Yes, sometimes, for two reasons:
1. I have the first syllable of a word in my head, but damned if I can get the rest of it to come out. So I'll think of a substitute word and plunk that into my thesaurus search box, then scan the list of synonyms until the word I can't remember shows up on the list. Aha! There it is!
2. I'm re-reading my work and find that I used the same word twice in the same sentence. It's not technically wrong, but it's clunky. "What kind of bed is this?" she asked, pointing to the bed. (Granted, I'd probably describe how the bed looks, rather than just write a second "bed". But it's the only example I can come up with at the moment.) Even then I'm not going to substitute something like "billet", because who talks like that? So no, I use some discernment.
I think thesauruses are great. They're a tool. I've never seen a plumber work without tools. But did the tool unclog the drain or was it the plumber's expertise in using it?
As for "big" words, here's the deal: if a word fits I use it. I don't set out to dazzle a reader with my vocabulary. I serve the story. With Inn Dreams (the book that garnered that negative review) I wracked my brain trying to figure out what the reviewer was talking about, and I still don't know. She mentioned that she'd need to read more of my work to "figure out" if this was a pattern with me. This what? Could it be that she's just dumb? Maybe she doesn't understand a lot of words. I do appreciate her offer to psychoanalyze me, though.
Writers, write how you write. Don't go overboard, but don't go "underboard", either. Don't feel like you need to dumb your writing down; just be you. If a reviewer is a jerk, that has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.
And damn right; use a thesaurus when you want to.
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