The thesaurus is my friend. Some may not need this crutch of sorts, this slayer of words. But I use mine (all three), a lot. I have one on my computer, as well as big thick hardback book that my husband bought for me years ago and last my husband himself, he is my personal thesaurus. If he is near and I’m searching for a word, I’ll holler out, “What’s another word for dive?” And with amazing consistency, he’ll pause for a second and then reply, “Plunge, plummet, drop…” and more useable words that hit the spot. (I have no idea how he does this, but it seems to work for me more often than not.)
However, he’s not always around, so if I’m writing away and I know what I want to say, but I just can’t pull a specific word up in my mind, I simply do this ( ), and keep typing with the knowledge that I can come back and fill in the blank. When I come back to my blanks, I pull out my thesaurus to help find the right word or edit and rewrite the sentence, or a paragraph or two, to get my thoughts down how I like them.
Finding the perfect word doesn’t always happen immediately, nor should it, writing takes time. Just know that if you have to toss in a ( ) or a _____ to keep your thoughts moving forward, then do it! You can always come back to find the perfect word, what’s important is to capture your thoughts while they are fresh in your mind.
Write on!
WRITING PROMPT: Capture
