The power of words.

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When writing one must keep in mind the power words have and use this to ones advantage when telling a story. Words show emotion. Words used can help describe a character or event or location better than a picture because words harness the reader's emotions and preconceptions. Did a character laugh, giggle, cackle, cough nervously, fake laugh? All these could be used to show the scene and the character in it differently so word choice is critical. Most of the time the original draft word choice is perfect but sometimes during content editing a word just doesn't convey what you really meant. Or sometimes a word just isn't enough. Example when I was in high school I discovered the word miasma and just had to use it in stories. I mean every bad event or awkward moment hung in the air like a miasma. The problem was it really is not a very useful word because one person's idea of a miasma can be extremely different than an other's. This is where word choices need to be evaluated and the time old rule of writing show don't tell. Example: The heat was a miasma of misery slowing Robert to a near crawl through the jungle. or John pauses to wipe the sweat from his brow to no avail. All he succeeded in doing was moving the dirt and grime of the jungle around so that the mosquitos and other pests had new ground to explore. Each step through the jungle was like a sauna minus the fluffy towels and fancy drinks. John's clothes were no longer just worn but soaked to his body like a second, uncomfortable skin. Each step drained more of his energy... Yes there are more words and in school writing essays we were taught less words is better but we are not writing an essay we are writing a movie with words. No matter what words you use in the end they need to convey what your story demands not what word of the day you try to fit in.