A Day for the Word Obsessed
Every good writer is a word nerd. You can’t use a tool well if you don’t love it. Words are the tool, and loving them is the whole foundation of the craft.Share on X
A word nerd is someone who cares about words past the point most people consider normal. Where a word came from.
Why it sounds the way it sounds. The hair-thin difference between two words that mean almost the same thing. The satisfying click of finding the exact right one. To most people that’s a strange thing to care about. To a writer it’s the entire job.
I’ve come to believe you can’t use a tool well if you don’t love it. Words are a writer’s only tool, and the writers who are best with them are, without exception, the ones who find them interesting. The nerd-level obsession is the foundation of the craft.
Why the Obsession Pays Off
The gap between “house” and “home,” or “smell” and “stench,” is the gap between flat writing and writing that works. Word nerds feel it.Share on X
Writing lives or dies on word choice, and only a word nerd notices the choices.
Take two words that mean nearly the same thing.
“House” and “home.” Same basic object, completely different feeling. “Smell” and “stench.” One is neutral, one is already a judgment. A word nerd feels those differences instinctively and picks the one that carries the exact weight the sentence needs. A writer who doesn’t care about words at that level reaches for whatever comes first and never notices the better option sitting right there.
That gap, between the word that’s close and the word that’s exactly right, is the gap between flat writing and writing that connects.
The same goes for where words come from. Knowing a word’s roots tells you what it really means and how to use it precisely. It’s the difference between using a word correctly and using it almost correctly, and almost isn’t good enough when the words are all you have.
How do you spend National Word Nerd Day?
Embrace it. Pick a word you use all the time and look up where it came from. You’ll probably be surprised, and you’ll use it a little more precisely afterward. (See also Mark Forsyth's tour of word origins)
Play with the near-twins. Find two words that mean almost the same thing and figure out exactly what separates them, “anger” and “rage,” “old” and “ancient,” “look” and “stare.” Notice the weight each one carries. That’s the muscle good writing runs on, and word nerds keep it strong by exercising it for fun. If you write, today is the craft, enjoyed for its own sake. The dictionary and the thesaurus are your playground today. Go get lost in them.
| Pair | What separates them |
|---|---|
| House and home | Same basic object, completely different feeling |
| Smell and stench | One is neutral, one is already a judgment |
| Anger and rage | Your exercise: work out exactly what separates them |
| Old and ancient | Your exercise: notice the weight each one carries |
| Look and stare | Your exercise: pick the one that fits the sentence |