Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
And yet, it seems, modern writers are discouraged from getting too adventurous with their vocabulary. I know I got queried about using susurrus ... but I said if Pratchett could get away with it in a kids book then having it in a book intended for adults should be fine. (Admittedly in Pratchett's "Wee Free Men" the definition is given along with the word.) Still, I think an author can get away with the occasional interesting word without offending too many people, especially if the context assists with understanding - as it often does.
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Someone said, "There's nothing wrong with making a reader pick up a dictionary," and I took it to heart. If I have a word that's just right, I'm not going to replace it with something less right just because it might be easier for some people to read. Of course, I'd never use a "big word" just to try to impress people. If "small words" do the job, then that's what I use.