Do authors use thesauruses and dictionaries when they write?

Question

Is it alright to use a dictionary when writing short stories or novels? Sometimes it's hard for me to find the right word and I want to vary things. I use a thesaurus and dictionary. Is that common? I don't do it to try and sound smart, just wanted to know if authors do it?

Answer 1

Sure.



The thesaurus is not for word-shopping to gussy up your prose, but for that occasional tip of the tongue situation when you blank on the word you want. The dictionary is to be sure that words mean what you think they mean, as well for checking spelling since electronic spell checkers are not really very good.

Answer 2

Like many of the others here, I use a thesaurus when I've got nearly the right word, but not QUITE the one I'm looking for, or when I'm trying not to repeat words. Sometimes I get the AHA moment, and sometimes it's bloody useless.



I don't generally need a dictionary.

Answer 3

I might right-click and consult the thesaurus installed in MS Word once in a while. This is only to avoid repeating words or to find just the right word to use. I never use a dictionary and try to always use simple words rather than more intellectual ones.

Answer 4

They do. But thesauruses are worse than useless in some cases because the words listed as synonymous are often very different. You have to either already be familiar with the word, or look it up in a good dictionary.



I know using a thesaurus to find a word you already know might seem silly, but it's surprisingly common to have the right word "on the tip of your tongue'. and not be able to come up with it even though you understand and use it at times.

Answer 5

"Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule." - Stephen King



Consulting a dictionary or MAYBE a thesaurus on occasions, in case you want to use a word or don't know what it means, or already know how to say something but you just need to the right word or assurance that it's right, is okay. But writing with one next to you, keeping it handy to make your vocabulary more impressive and mature sounding? No. That will almost always lead to pretentious writing.



There's no need to impress or to overdo anything in writing. "Murder your darlings," as the saying goes.



If you want to legitimately improve your vocabulary instead of keeping a handy thesaurus, I suggest reading more often, especially adult novels.



Cheers!

Answer 6

I use the dictionary for those, "I've heard of this word, but what does it actually mean?" moments. Every once in a while, I'll learn some new words, but I try to avoid fancy words I'll never use. I've known the word "Pulchritude" for years now, and haven't thought of a way to use it naturally.



A word like "pugnacious" will make me look it up in the dictionary.

Answer 7

I saw a quote in those huge list of awesome quotes by authors and one of them was "Any word searched for in the thesaurus is the wrong word." I don't remember who said it but I wish I could. Dictionaries can help sometimes, but I usually just google the word if I need to know its meaning. Every author writes differently though.

Answer 8

There are times when I know a word exists for what I am trying to describe, I know the definition, but I can't remember the name of it. For example, I'm not going to say "the funny-looking tool that sailors used to look at the moon and stars and navigate at sea, similar to SEXTET." I'm going to google navigational tools until I find the one that matches the definition in my head. (It's a SEXTANT, in case you were curious.)



So, I don't use a dictionary to look up new words. Frequently, I have a full definition plus a vague impression of some letters in my brain, and I use google to find the word I'm thinking of.



I'm opposed to the use of a thesaurus, as I've come across many writers in workshop who end up using a replacement word incorrectly. Imagine that you are well-trained in fighting with a knife. Well, imagine that I give you a sword, a weapon you've never used before. Chances are, you aren't going to use it as well as you used the knife. The same goes with language. Words are your weapon. If you exchange familiar words with unfamiliar words for the sake of variety, you're not going to use the new words as effectively as the old words. It's true, you should expose yourself to new words frequently, but not through a thesaurus. You need to observe words in action, in speech, in writing, until you have such an understanding of that word it integrates itself into your casual vocabulary (not just when you're trying to sound smart).



You asked if it's right or wrong to use a dictionary or thesaurus. I can't answer that exactly. There's no right or wrong way to do it. As a writer, I firmly believe in writing what comes naturally to you, and so avoiding a thesaurus. Anything else, and you're at risk of losing your voice or worse, misusing a word in a disastrous way. If you are using a thesaurus regularly, I recommend you also look up the definitions of new words.

Answer 9

Of course it is okay, how else are you going to improve your vocabulary, and learn to spell new words. I have many word books and dictionaries, in several languages, as well a thesaurus and reference books in English. As you are finding they are very useful when writing.



Roget's Thesaurus, Oxford English Dictionary, Words and Rules by Steven Pinker, My Grammar and I (or should that be 'me'?) by Caroline Taggart and J A Wines. Plus a heap of others that I find very helpful at times.



Good luck with your writing!

Answer 10

All the time.

Answer 11

Yes, the tools of the trade.

Answer 12

No they would never do that because it has nothing to do with what they are creating.

Answer 13

Of course, they do.