Why This Book Deserves Its Day!

Words! The English language has so many words… Words that sound the same, but have different meanings. Words with the same, or nearly the same, meaning. There are so many choices! Yet, when writing, an author often struggles to find just the “right” word. My particular problem is that when I find a word I like, I use it over and over again. Fortunately, with modern writing technology, I can do a quick search and find all times I used that word in a single story. But then, I must find words to replace my overused choice. That’s where the wonderful Roget’s Thesaurus comes in.

All About Thesaurus

An amazing book that offers choices to writers, which is so badly needed.

Before the Internet, the book version of Roget’s Thesaurus was a “must-have” for any author. For a writer, the same words can’t be used over and over. No, variety is the spice of life! The author’s mind might be up to the creative task. But if not, Roget’s Thesaurus will always be there for them. 

Why It Deserves a Day

January 18th was chosen for National Thesaurus Day because it is the birthday of Peter Mark Roget, the creator of Roget’s Thesaurus, who was born in 1779. After retiring from a medical career, Roget focused on creating Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. In it, Roget provided the meaning of every word and categorized them. Wow! What an amazing (incredible, outstanding) task.

But other authors and publishers realized the value of the thesaurus. This has led to the production of a variety of thesauri. Consequently, no matter your writing genre, your search for words can be fulfilled. When I started writing seriously, my friends would gift me with other thesauri, such as The Thinker’s Thesaurus: Sophisticated Alternatives to Common Words Paperback by Peter E. Meltzer. Now, I have choices of choices.

I’ve enjoyed spending a few hours leafing through various word collections, immersing myself in the similarities and differences of words, being inspired by the unusual or the that-would-be the appropriate words for my stories.

Over time, common usage of words changes and the thesauri must be updated. That’s the convenience of being able to look words up on the Internet.  

And yet, there are times when I totally ignore my thesauri and intentionally use the same word over and over and over again. Curtis Curly-tail brings out the repetitiveness in me. After all, Curtis is the perfect curly-tail lizard, who lives in his perfect den on the perfect island in the perfect country. This description fits him perfectly!

 Nowadays, the Thesaurus and many similar resources exist to be searched. So much more convenient. But we should be grateful to Roget for dedicating his retirement to the organization of English words. As wordsmiths, we’ll be forever in his debt… or beholden, indebted, thankful, gratified, or obliged. You choose!