TheArtofSurprisingWords
Wordshavethepowertoawe,shock,andamaze.Theycanmakeuslaugh,cry,oreventransformusonafundamentallevel.Buthowcanwecraftsentencesthattrulysurpriseourreaders?Inthisarticle,we'llexploretheartofwritingsurprisingwords.
TheImportanceofContext
Surpriseisallaboutbreakingexpectations.Buttodothat,weneedtohavesomeexpectationsinthefirstplace.Thisiswherecontextcomesin.Whenwereadasentence,weautomaticallystartbuildingamentalmodelofwhat'sgoingon.Weexpectcertainwordstofollowothers,andcertainideastobeexpressedinacertainway.Thekeytosurprisingourreadersistoexploitthoseexpectations.
Onewaytodothisistosetupacontextthat'sfamiliar,andthensubvertit.Forexample,considerthesentence\"Thecatjumpedontothewindowsillandlickeditspaw.\"Thisisaprettyunremarkablesentence-itjustdescribesatypicalcatbehavior.Butwhatifweaddedatwistattheend:\"Andthenthecatlookedatmeandsaid'hello'.\"Suddenly,thesentencetakesonacompletelydifferentmeaning.Bysettingupacontextthat'sfamiliar(thecatbehavior),andthensubvertingit(thecatspeaking),wecreatesurprise.
ThePowerofContrast
Anotherwaytocreatesurpriseisthroughcontrast.Contrasthappenswhenwehavetwoideasthatseemtoopposeeachother.Whenwereadasentencethatcontainscontrast,ourbrainsautomaticallytrytoreconcilethetwoopposingelements.Thiscreatestension,andwhenthattensionisrelieved(usuallybytheresolutionofthecontrast),itcanbesurprising.
OneclassicexampleofcontrastcomesfromtheopeningofCharlesDickens'ATaleofTwoCities:\"Itwasthebestoftimes,itwastheworstoftimes,itwastheageofwisdom,itwastheageoffoolishness...\"Thissentencesetsupaseriesofcontrasts-best/worst,wisdom/foolishness-thatcreatetension.Bytheendofthesentence,we'releftwonderinghowtheseapparentlyopposingideascancoexist.Thistensionisthenresolvedintherestofthenovel,andtheresultisapowerfulemotionalimpactonthereader.
TheElementofSurprise
Ofcourse,creatingsurpriseisn'talwaysaboutbuildingexpectationsorusingcontrasts.Sometimes,it'sjustaboutcatchingthereaderoffguard.Thiscanbeachievedinmanyways-byusingunusualwords,unexpectedmetaphors,orbysimplytakingasentenceinadirectionthereaderwasn'texpecting.
Considerthisexamplefromtheshortstory\"TheVeldt\"byRayBradbury:\"Thelionsarehungry.\"Thissentenceseemssimpleenough-untilwerealizethatit'snotreferringtoreallions,butrathertothevirtuallionsinafuturisticplayroom.Bytakingthesentenceinacompletelyunexpecteddirection(fromreallionstovirtuallions),Bradburycreatesasurprisethat'sbothdelightfulandunsettling.
Surprisingwordscanmakeourwritingmorememorable,moreengaging,andmoreimpactful.Byusingcontext,contrast,andunexpecteddirection,wecancraftsentencesthatstaywithourreaderslongafterthey'vefinishedreading.Sothenexttimeyousitdowntowrite,don'tbeafraidtosurpriseyourself-andyourreaders.
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