I collect $20 words. Here’s Why…

I’m a writer. Of course I have a word hoarding problem. 😀

In screenwriting, I learned the value of a good $10 word. (Adjusted for inflation, we’re talking $20 words now. Ha!)

What are $20 words? Words that pack a punch. The visceral, evocative words that do a little song and dance on the page. They don’t just describe something. They make you feel it.

And screenwriting is where I learned to appreciate them.

Unlike novels, screenplays don’t have the luxury of exposition or interiority. I can’t spend three paragraphs telling you what a character is thinking or feeling. I have action lines and dialogue, and every word must earn its place. The exact right word conveys so much: a character’s mood, a personality reveal, or describe the texture of location with a single, sharp stroke.

Whenever I come across a word that makes me stop and think damn, that’s good, I add it to a file. Words with texture. Words with attitude. Words that do the heavy lifting of five ordinary words in one glorious syllable.

And when I sit down to write a novel? I raid the file.

My goal: not to cram fancy vocabulary into every sentence or make my prose sound like it swallowed a thesaurus. Screenwriting taught me to be economical. Novel writing gives me room to play. Combining the two means I can write with both precision and personality.

And my little collection of $20 words keeps growing.

Because when it comes to a writer’s arsenal, you can never have too much ammunition.

ACF CREATIVE

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