Thesaurus Maze
This is a really useful writing exercise and one that, inshaa`Allaah, I'll be doing often as I've recently found that my vocabulary of adjectives and verbs is rather limited.
NOTE: You'll need a good thesaurus, and a notebook as well, to record the words as you go along. If you haven't got a thesaurus, try looking for one online - here's a good one: Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary & Thesaurus.
1. Choose a word. It can be one you particularly like, or one you just discovered, or one chosen at random from a dictionary. You may want to try this exercise once with a word that seems to offer many potential shades of meaning (such as "nation" or "original"), and once with a seemingly simple word (like "sleep" or "animal").
2. Find the word in the thesaurus (some words won't have their own separate entries--in that case, either choose a more common synonym, or start again with a different word). Jot down the synonyms you find (and the antonyms, too, if you feel like it). You might find a simple list is easiest, or you could try a "brainstorming"-type diagram, with the orginal word at the centre and the synonyms all around it, connected by lines. Notice that many of the synonyms you find will have slightly different--or even very different--connotations, though they share a basic meaning. Look for some of the words in a dictionary if you want to clarify specific meanings. Take notes on anything that interests you.
3. Choose one of the synonyms you found, and look it up in the thesaurus. As before, write down what you find and use a dictionary as needed.
4. Continue choosing words from each new list of synonyms, until you run into a dead end (where all the synonyms are words you've already seen).
5. Go back to the previous list and follow a new word (back up as far as you need to to get out of the dead end). Again, each time you reach a dead end, back up to an earlier list until you find a new word to follow. Eventually, you'll either run out of new synonyms, or you'll get so far from the meaning of your original word that it no longer seems relevant.
6. Look over the words you ended up with, and the way they relate to each other. Write a few paragraphs about your exploration, if you feel you've discovered something interesting.
Source: Thesuarus Maze, A Word Exercise
Comments
Assalamualaikum,
Hmm... I love the concept!!!!! You know I LUUUUURVE anything that has to do with writing.
You know, point number 3 reminds me of back when as a writer I was still dripping wet from the nose. I used to think it was cool to use boistrous words (ah, see... doing it still!)...
Anyway, I used to pick a word, thumb through the thesaurus, pick a synonym and just dump it in the text without looking for its most apt definition. Not knowing it actually causes you to come off more inexperienced than ever.
Gonna try to come by more often, Insha Allah.
Miss ya, :-)
Posted by: Eka | December 22, 2005 1:02 PM