Glen and Karen Bledsoe --> articles --> The Writing Process --> Choice Words
Articles Index: Site Index: Are your words right for your readers? If they are,
you've just increased the odds of getting an editor's
approval. But if your word choices are too hard or too
easy, a rejection is much more likely. So how is a writer
to tell? Learning to write well requires experience and
practice, and this includes learning about word
selection. Nevertheless, there are a few tricks of the
trade. Over the years I've found a variety of techniques
to be helpful, ones that have seen me through some 200
acceptances to date. I'll discuss magazine writing in
particular, but these tips are useful for other kinds of
writing, too. Begin at the Beginning This one's a no-brainer: You can't target your word
choices unless you know where you're aiming. Tap into
resources like Children's
Writer's & Illustrator's Market, Children's
Writer, and a magazine's own web site to find listings of
age levels. You'll find spans like 2-5 years for Turtle,
6-9 for Spider, and 8-14 for Dig. Keep an eye out for
extra info, too, like Hopscotch's mention that while
their magazine is for girls ages 6-12, most readers are
8-10. While magazines list ages, the word selection
resources I describe below refer to grade levels. It can
be helpful, then, to make yourself a grade/age chart,
especially if you're writing for several age levels. You
can see at a glance just how old a 6th -grader would
be. Next, immerse yourself. "A writer writes" (dead-on
advice from Billy Crystal in "Throw
Momma from the Train") has a corollary: "A writer
reads." See how others have handled word selection by
plunging into magazine articles, books, and other
materials written for the grade and age range that
interests you. And now, consider your audience. If your story or
article will be read with an adult, word choice can be
bumped up a bit. And judiciously introducing some new
vocabulary to a young or beginning reader can be a good
thing. But no editor is going to be happy about a piece
that would require readers' constant referral to a
dictionary. "Find" Your Words In Microsoft® Word, click on "Edit" to access this
search. It's a quick and easy way to zero in on words
that may be repeated too often. Here's an example. I
submitted a 400-word magazine assignment, geared to age
12, about trash. Especially for a short piece, I wouldn't
want to repeat the word "trash" time after time.
"Garbage" was an easy substitution, along with a few
other terms appropriate for this age level. Using the
"Find" feature helped guarantee that I'd both spread out
my terms and used a good mix of them in the final
copy. The younger your audience, though, the trickier it
gets to avoid too many repeated words. You simply don't
have as many word choices! Compromising may be in order.
You can experiment with substituting and alternating
words, rewriting the sentence, defining a word in
context, or omitting words entirely. If using "Find" has you bouncing back and forth too
much, try this. Print out your manuscript, use colored
markers to highlight the problem words, and you'll see
precisely where changes need to be made. The "Find" feature also helps you pinpoint those words
you tend to rely on &endash; perhaps a little too often.
Although reading your work aloud is a valuable technique,
it isn't always enough to catch these overly repeated
words. My personal checklist includes "too, also,
however, though, although, because, since, for example,
for instance, just, since, now, so," and "then." Again,
you can alternate, replace, omit, and rewrite. Look It Up Did "Find" reveal a word used one time too many?
Puzzled on how to replace it? Turn to the thesaurus in
your word processing program. In Word, first highlight
the word, and then click on "Tools" and under it
"Language" to access the thesaurus. It's also an excellent idea to have a print version or
two available. An inexpensive children's or student's
thesaurus is particularly helpful. Likewise, a children's dictionary is invaluable for
kid-friendly terms and definitions. Scholastic and other
major publishers offer plenty of reasonably priced
choices. Also consider buying a writer's reference book.
Children's
Writer's Word Book by Alijandra Mogilner (Writer's
Digest Books, 1992) includes graded lists for
kindergarten through sixth grade, a cumulative word list,
and a thesaurus. As a mom and former teacher, I feel
there's a general tendency to overestimate age levels.
Nevertheless, this is a solid addition to a writer's
working library. Another choice is EDL Core Vocabularies in Reading,
Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies (Raintree
Steck-Vaughn, 1989). I've found this inexpensive
paperback eminently useful. It features graded reading
lists, a cumulative list; separate vocabulary lists for
math, science, and social studies; and a list for adults
reading at a very low level. Algorithms, Anyone? Here's another great feature that's built right into
the computer: the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Level.
Algorithms are used to determine the grade-school level
of a particular piece of writing. For Windows access,
click on Tools, then Options, then the Spelling and
Grammar tab, where a box will say, "Show readability
statistics." Click on "OK" and you're ready to go. To check the readability level of your writing, either
hit F7 or click on the ABC (Spelling and Grammar) icon on
the toolbar. A gray box will pop up containing handy bits
of info about your writing, from word count to the number
of passive sentences; the readability level is listed at
the bottom. (Test it out on my previous paragraph. The RL
is 9.5, a mid-9th grade level.) You can also highlight
either a single sentence or a paragraph, and then check
it alone. Be advised that a polysyllabic proper noun like
Massachusetts will bounce your results to a higher
RL. You can also use this feature to determine a
magazine's preferred level. Scan or type out sample
passages from several representative pieces and see where
they fall on the scale. Another reason to check a piece's reading level is if
you enter writing contests, such as the ones offered by
Children's Writer. According to the editors, "A majority
of entries do not make it past the first reading because
they are not targeted to the specified age range or
because they exceed the word limit." For the record, these book and computer resources
don't always align perfectly. What's a grade 5 word for
one source might be a grade 7 for another. As long as
you're writing for an age span, just look for some middle
ground. (The Flesch-Kincaid is one of several readability
scales. To learn about other scales, go to http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/fry/fry.html.) Ask the Experts Finally, you can always ask the experts. Round up some
kids of the right age range for your writing and try out
your word or words on them. See if they can correctly
define a particular word or explain a concept back to
you. And if you're still in doubt, consider asking a
teacher. *** Over time and with practice, you'll develop a "feel"
for choosing the right words for the right age group. At
that point, you'll probably only refer to these sources
on an as-needed basis. You'll know that your word choices
are right on target &endash; and so will your happy
editors. Recommended Books: Children's
Writer's Word Book
Alijandra Mogilner
Writer's Digest Books, 1992
Recommended in this article as a resource for children's
book writers. Includes lists of vocabulary appropriate for
each grade level.
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