Eureka! The Humble Thesaurus

Why is the thesaurus so great?  This is resource that will expand and improve your creativity in ways you never knew!  This common tool is something that I had overlooked for YEARS!

I’ve been blogging for several years now.  5 or 6, I think.  My blog has changed and evolved a few different times.  Right now, I mostly focus on poetry.  I now write my poetry with a minimum of 2 tabs open on my computer.  One to actually WRITE the work and another, my new-found Best Friend, the thesaurus.

If I am trying to convey a feeling and I don’t seem to be able to find the right word for it, I always jump over to the thesaurus.  In poetry, you want what you are trying to express to flow in a way that is pleasing to the reader.  If it doesn’t, your work will fall flat.  One word can make all the difference in the world.

I’ll give you a few simple examples.  If I want to say that I’m angry in a poem or story, rather than use the word angry, my thesaurus suggests fury, indignation, rage, passion and many more.  I find these much more creative ways to express anger.  Don’t you?

Another example.  If I want to express that I am sad, my trusty thesaurus suggests the words bitter, dismal, wistful and many others.  Sound better?  I think so too.

To me, using the thesaurus can make or break a poem or story for you.

In the tiny Elfchen below, titled A Splash of Starlight, in the 4th line, I used the word illuminated rather than the boring word, lit.  A much more eloquent way of expressing the same thing.

a
splash of
starlight bathed the
night and illuminated our
love

My revelation of the thesaurus, described above, may be something Old Hat to many of you out there.  But to many others, this may just be the thing that unlocks that creative inner voice that has been trapped inside you!  You can find Thesaurus . com HERE. 

So, tell me, what revelation in writing have you discovered that helps you?  Please share!  

Copyright (C) 2020 Penny Wilson