Words!

I had a very interesting discussion with my editor last week about vocabulary--when an obscure word works, and when it doesn't.

Her theory, which shows her editing know-how, is that the reader should be able to figure out the word by the context of the sentence.

I tend to love using unusual words that broaden readers, and I love reading writers who use an expanded vocabulary.

But then again...I'm the type of reader who keeps a dictionary nearby, and underlines phrases, and goes to Dictionary.com every day.

As we were writing Grit, we had fun chasing down how some obscure phrases originated...like, what does it mean to be Argus-Eyed? (A monster with many eyes.) Or who coined "the Green-Eyed Monster?" (Shakespeare.) Or what did Ezekiel mean by using an inkhorn? (An animal's horn that held the ink for a scribe.)

See? Obscure, but fun! And don't you feel smarter?