The Power of Word Choice in Non-Fiction Writing
What this post covers:
How news headlines convey an article’s meaning
The impact your word choice has on your book’s central message
How word choice will hit your reader
“Neighbor’s Windows Warp Owner’s Siding”
The headline declared. Its writer had left us readers in no doubt of the absolute certainty of his claim. Those windows were the perpetrators in the veritable warped windows crime scene. All the evidence pointed that way, and there could be no reasonable doubt. Guilty verdicts rang out in neatly typed out columns of evidence. And for the windows’ crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time (of day), they would now be sentenced to a lifetime behind anti-glare window film. Sighs of satisfaction abound as we readers see the horror rectified. Nods of approval follow at the justice that has been dispensed. Case neatly closed, and what a feel-good feeling it is.
But wait, are the windows really the criminals here? Have we stopped to think about what we’re being told by the combination of words the journalist has chosen to use?
The Impact of Word Choice on Your Central Message
Word choice is not merely about selecting the right word from a thesaurus but about understanding the nuances of language, the subtle shades of meaning, and the emotional weight that words carry. A skillful non-fiction writer wields words like a master painter wields a brush, carefully selecting each stroke to create a vivid and compelling picture. In the case of the headline above, the journalist’s word choices convey drama, tension, and, ultimately, conflict between the window and the siding. And just as he knows we will, us readers translate that to mean drama between the neighbors–conflict that is intriguing to us humans. The writer’s deliberate choice of words leads us down this path. He could have written the article headline like this:
“Sun that reflected off my neighbor’s windows caused my siding to bubble.”
It gives factual information and doesn’t blame the neighbor’s windows for having caused the issues to the siding. However, it also does not create drama and tension. It is much less enticing, and it does not achieve the journalist’s central message that he hints at in his headline–potential neighbor drama over bubbled siding.
Word Choice and The Reader
The central message of your book will be conveyed or hindered by the word choices that you make, and your word choices are one of the important elements I look at when I line edit your manuscript. I recently edited a wonderfully written manuscript that conveyed the loving, tender heart of the Father as she worked through an illness her daughter was experiencing. The author spoke of these “nagging thoughts” that would be present in describing the way the Father communicated His desire to speak a perspective shift. I knew that she intended “nagging” to be neutral, but, unfortunately, this term is firmly in the negative column when it comes to our perception of the person it’s being applied to. Her intended audience are people who have a professed faith in God but haven’t come across Him as a loving, compassionate Father who is there for them in their needs. The central message of her testimony was to gently explain that He is all of this and more. Considering both her central message and the tendencies of her audience to feel pressured by a demanding God, I knew that “nagging” had to go. It was only going to reinforce beliefs that she was actively writing to demolish. I suggested “persistent,” “continual,” and “enduring” as alternatives. She was thrilled with the suggestions that kept her meaning but didn’t lock the Father firmly into the demanding dictator box.
These are the types of details that thrill my editorial brain. Let’s make sure your words shine and your central message comes through in clear, unhindered, powerful word choices. Send a message through the Contact page or email me at rebecca@hershbergerediting.com for a free consultation.
