The Right Word

Based on current estimates, there are over a million words in the English language.  These words come in very handy if you are writing a novel and trying to express your thoughts in the most concise manner possible.  But, from these million words, how do you pick out just the right one?

Suppose I want to convey my character leaving a bar.  I could say, "Sam walked out of the bar." But walk is not the word I want.  I can see my character and he is not walking.  The correct word is on the tip of my tongue, niggling my memory, daring me to grasp it.  But I can't.  What does walk tell my reader?  Only that Sam left by his own power.  But I know Sam had a few too many drinks?  Is there a way I could describe his current condition in one word?  Maybe use a dictionary?

The Dictionary

My $5.00 dictionary (1984)

Definition of walk

According to my dictionary, walk can mean any of many different things, only one of which can be used to come out of a bar--to advance or travel on foot at a moderate pace.  Yes, Sam is doing that, but it doesn't tell the story.  The dictionary gives me as definition, but not connotation.  Where is the right word?

TheThesaurus. 

My handy thesaurus

I want to portray Sam as not doing so well moving from point A to B.  So using a thesaurus there are several verbs describing this action: undulating, waving, rocking, reeling, etc.  Surely Sam is not vibrating or swinging, and reeling makes it sound like he got punched.  I know I'm getting closer, but I'm still not there.

Walking unsteadily

The Word Guide

The Comprehensive Word Guide by Norman Lewis

My go-to source for synonyms is Norman Lewis's Comprehensive Word Guide.  The renowned fiction writer, Rik Newman, introduced me the Guide at our writers' group meeting back in 2010.  Though the Word Guide was written in the '50s, it's still pertinent today.  It is set up similar to a thesaurus, but contains the nuances of a word that makes it suitable for the scene.  Instead of many words meaning to walk, the guide presents words by description.  So when I wanted movement while leaving a bar, the Word Guide offered several choices for clumsy motion. 

Words describing clumsy motion

The word I want jumps out at me.  It's staggered.  Sam staggered from the bar.  The reader can now safely infer from my one word, a verb, that Sam had too much to drink.  Dictionaries are great for definitions and a thesaurus lists tons of synonyms, but to find just the right word, The Concise Word Guide  by Norman Lewis works best.