Substitutes v. Synonyms II
Thanks to Josh Gentry for his post on 05 April 2007 concerning the above title and the power of words (My gosh, has it been that long ago?). I will divulge the fact that I was in fact the struggling colleague. But, as with many problem scenarios, while observing the situation we devised a plan of attack that would help to mitigate future problems. We were really trying to cure writer’s block here—to eliminate the analysis paralysis that so many of us deal with. And in doing so, we developed the technique of Substitutes v. Synonyms.
As Josh described previously, the scenario was that I was trying to complete the phrase, “…as we move from today into the ______.” Forget that the phrase itself is slightly clichéd, but focus instead on the blank. The task at hand required the blank be filled in. But with what, “unknown,” “uncharted,” “unfamiliar”? I was stuck on one word of a 500 word piece, and the whole writing machine grinded to a stop.
As a rule, I operate on a principle taught to me by a software developer: If you can’t answer the question or solve the problem after 30 minutes, go get help. Fresh eyes and impartial input can often lead the way out of jams.
Enter Josh.
“These words are all kind of over-dramatic. Just use ‘future’.”
Ah ha……….bait and switch.
Substitution v. Synonym.
All of my fears of the connotations of my pool of words disappeared. I had a new word, with new meaning, with new direction, with new movement.
Stop trying to find a better word that means the same thing. Find a better word that means what that word means. Approximate. Estimate. Coming close might actually be more accurate overall. This was merely one out of 500 other little pieces, and there was no reason to lock up the machine due to a small glitch of relatively small consequence.
Problem solved.
Situation remedied.
Scenario resolved.
Case closed. (see how easy this is)
Substitute the fear of not coming up with the right word with the confidence to get help and the flexibility to accept deviations from your original plans. But keep a thesaurus handy, just in case.