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Friday 25 September 2009

That's 'nice'

I was watching Loose Women today and up came the debate about the word 'nice'. Apparantly, Michael Palin has voiced that he hates being described as 'nice' and therefore is going to change his image. This immediately reminded me of school. One of my English teachers, I can't remember which, really hated that word. And this prejudice has stuck - proof that sometimes things stick for years after they are taught.

Basically, I won't use the word 'nice' if I can help it, I'll find any other word to fit the bill. That word is bad - incidentally another one of those never use words. These words don't describe anything. They are bland and unimaginative. And as a writer, I feel they are way overused (probably by myself as much as I hate to admit it), and is simply proof of laziness. Surely you would rather the dinner you cooked was delicious/tasty/mouth-watering rather than simply 'nice'.

Words are a writers bread and butter - I know this phrase has been used over and over - but it's true. So think about the words you use to describe things, and if you get stuck, turn to a thesauras and learn some new way of explaining exactly what you mean, rather than sticking to the boring bland good/bad/nice which have very limited meaning.

1 comment:

Kess said...

Very well said! I cannot abide the word 'nice'. As you said, it completely lacks imagination, and whenever anyone uses it, I always get the impression that they're not really listening. It can be quite patronising sometimes, and I really try not to use it!