Problem:

Your writing is full of vague, non-specific words that leave it limp and lifeless or, worse, conveying the wrong meaning.

Solution:

Substitute vague words for their more interesting counterparts and be sure that those words mean what you think they mean.

Word choice is critical to writing successfully. Remember in “The Last Crusade” when whatshisname picked the wrong Grail and got all corpsified? Remember what the Knight said?

“He chose poorly.”

To keep you from aging approximately 827 years before you finish this sentence, let’s look at a few poor word choices and how to fix them, shall we?

Bad:

I felt impotent after the movie.

Good:

I felt powerless after having watched the documentary.

Bad:

I feel asleep.

Good:

I fell asleep.

Bad:

The whole thing’s just bumming me out, you know?

Good:

Rising inflation and the falling dollar have me questioning our nation’s leadership.

Ok, these are some extreme examples, but instead of filling your head with mistakes, let’s talk about how to avoid the problem.

Simply say what you mean

Sometimes we get wrapped up in a need to sound smart or fit in. Stop it. The shortest route between you and the correct word is to say what you mean, simply. Believe me, Mensa won’t be calling if you write “The army recapitulated after their defeat” instead of “The army surrendered after their defeat.”
Use a dictionary immediately after using a thesaurus

Believe me, I know the temptation is there: You’ve used “party” twice already, and you just can’t use it again. But it’s better to sound a little redundant than to go on about the tea bloc that Eliot was writing about. Hit the dictionary after the thesaurus, ok?
Erase those clichés

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If someone else has already written it, skip it. Part of choosing good words is choosing strong words, and those same old chestnuts just ain’t cutting the mustard.

That is to say, a punchy, original phrase is more effective that one that your reader is probably just going to gloss over anyway.

Word choice is a big part of style, and it doesn’t come easily. That’s why professors make a living writing “awkward” on term papers. But master these three basic tips, and you’ll learn the difference between a feeling of hopelessness and erectile dysfunction.