Thursday, November 10, 2011

Using "Big" Words - Like it or hate it?

I ask because I just found a historical fiction novel last night in my dad's store.  Naturally, I stole it up to my apartment and started reading because the beautiful artwork on the cover also contained the words "best-selling author."

Well, I consider myself to have a pretty decent vocabulary, and the author is using words that I've never even heard of before.  Part of it is that the story takes place barely post Revolutionary War and people talked differently back then, but any author or editor will tell you to use words that the audience will understand, or at least, if you're going to use unfamiliar words, use them in a way that makes their meaning clear.

That sadly isn't the case with this story.  Strangely enough, I'm actually enjoying the story and plan to finish all five hundred pages today.

So, what are your thoughts.  Do strange, big, "I opened up the thesaurus and pointed" words bother you when reading?  Do you dust off the dictionary and look them up, or just move on?

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