To Thesaurus or not? That is the question.

I have a three inch thesaurus. LOL! Makes me envision dinosaurs when I see the word. Of course, the size of my thesaurus is a match for any extinct reptile. My book is titled, The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale. Do I love it? You betcha!

The pages are marked with colored tabs (I put them there) to make places I go to often. Yes, I have a terrible habit when I’m writing to use the same word over several times. The thesaurus helps me find another word in its place. I also think it adds a wonderful flavor to the story too.

I even found a name for my hero in the my novel Dragon Wish from this thesaurus. I searched the words brave, honorable, warrior. When I reached warrior, the name popped out. Paladin. Perfect match for my character so thus the name.

My thesaurus have over one million synonyms along with their acronyms. I’ve had it for about eight years now and the pages are a little yellow and bent. Did I say how much I loved this book? It was an excellent investment to my writing. I’ve tried the computer’s synonym finder but it’s not the same. The selections are small and don’t work well with what I’m searching for. Sort of like having an affair. I feel guilty using any other word search. Did I tell you I can be a little warped?

Do you have a favorite thesaurus? How often do you use it? Let me know.

Comments

Ramblin' Rose said…
Hey, Judy. Thoughtful blog. Your writing really demonstrates your commitment to finding just the right word.

Nothing can substitute for a good handheld thesaurus, but may I just mention Mobysaurus??

Two words: drill down.

Looking forward to reading more of your newest. Get to work!!
Unknown said…
Judith,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have just about right-clicked my online synonym finder to death. I've been on the lookout for a good thesaurus.

Ana
I have Roget's Thesaurus of English Words & Phrases. I think it's about 6 or 7 years old, the spine is held together with sticky tape, odd pages are loose and I would be completely lost without it!!!
Mindy Blanchard said…
I have three of them. A small one I carry in my purse. One huge one for at home and a 3rd mid size one, that I can never seem to find.

I'm so disorganized. Life would be better if I would keep them at my new desk. I'm working on setting up a small part of my living room as an office complete with huge bookshelf - maybe then I'll be able to find and use my lovely books.

Paladin is a great word!! Alyssa Day (I think) has a fantastic series of warriors/champions known as Paladins.


Mindy

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