Who among us hasn’t reached for the bag of pretzels or a cookie when they were hungry instead of slicing some chicken or putting a few spoons of cottage cheese in a bowl?

The pretzels are so easy!

Not to confuse things, but pretzels are low-hanging fruit.

When chatting with a friend, we often reach for the low-hanging fruit then, too.

In this case, it’s the same tired words.

Awesome.

Interesting.

Pretty.

Amazing.

Good.

Bad.

Boring.

For us writers, many of those same words end up in our first drafts, too. (That’s what first drafts are for.)

We do that because it’s easy.

It’s shorthand.

It gets the point across.

But stuffing your conversations or writing with mundane, lackluster words is like stuffing yourself with marshmallows—or pretzels.

Sure you’ll get full, but there’s no nourishment.

Just fluff.

Language is more than just a tool for communication.

It’s the lens through which we see the world.

The words we choose shape our perceptions, emotions, and even actions.

By consciously choosing better, more precise, or uplifting words to describe our experiences, we can enhance not just our conversations or our writing, but also our everyday lives.

I am absolutely not suggesting that you open a thesaurus and look up 212 different ways to say “good.”

I’m suggesting that instead of saying something is “good” you say what is so good about it.

What’s it like?

What does it remind you of?

What are its elements?

If you’re describing something that’s majestic, what makes it majestic?

Tell your friend that as you drove up to Mount Rushmore, your breath caught at the sheer size of the faces that are as tall as a six-story building.

The nostrils alone are about eleven-feet tall.

Tell your friend that the sight of it sent chills running around your head.

Of course, it can be awkward to speak like that, and that’s where a journal comes in handy.

Practice rendering your experiences down to a succinct description that captures your feelings as well as the scene.

Using better words isn’t about impressing others, it’s about enriching your experiences.

It’s about bringing more enjoyment into your life.

When you can specify what is good or beautiful about something, it becomes more visceral, more enjoyable…more memorable.

Think of the woods in autumn, for example.

“The woods were pretty” versus “…the hush of the woods as I watched the path of a falling leaf twirling its way to the ground, the smell of damp earth, the glow of the last yellow leaves left shimmering on the trees.”

Now you know what was pretty to you.

Find better words.

The music isn’t just pleasant.

The wind instruments are breathy like the voice of Marilyn Monroe, the tambourines lend a lively jangle, the drums make you want to bounce your whole body.

Likewise, when you’re tasting wine, do you taste the chocolate notes?

Oak?

Apricots?

For the life of me, I can only taste wine in wine.

But even so, trying to discover the chocolate or the 200-year-old barrel notes (or whatever words the winery uses to describe their wine) does make the wine-tasting experience more fun.

Can you see how going beyond “good,” “bad,” “beautiful,” and “pretty” might make for a deeper conversation, and might elevate your life as well?

Imagine what it can do for your writing, too.

Whether you’re writing an email or a short story or a novel, don’t pick the low-hanging fruit.

Don’t reach for tired adjectives or adjectives at all.

Reach a little bit higher.

Your work will be better for it.

One tip about descriptions in writing: Make them do double duty.

Instead of simply describing a scene, write about how it affects the character viewing it.

Does it make them remember something pertinent to the plot?

How does it make them feel?

What do their thoughts about the scene reveal about who they are?

It’s better to have a description that lends itself to furthering the plot or revealing more of the character or theme than to have a description purely for description’s sake.

Enjoy your week.

~ Gail

Tick tock (not to be confused with TikTok)

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