Be sure that you say what you mean. It's easy to interpret different meanings and totally miss what you intended.
The meaning of your words can change by their order, who says what, the tone that is used or context you hear them in. Even the frame of mind of the listener can affect the meaning of the words. The play on words and the emotions they are both spoken or heard with can have a significant impact on your story.
“You should never play with your food.”
…said the vampire as he pulled his cloak over the unsuspecting victim.
…said the mother as she served her twins their dinner.
The connotation is definitely different in the two examples above.
Using a metaphor that is familiar to a region, like “raining cats and dogs”, would certainly confuse someone whose only interpretation is literal. Meanings can also change through time; years ago saying that someone was a “nice person” meant that they were unaware, but now it’s a compliment.
Even though a word may sound the same doesn't necessarily mean it means the same.
.....An old man may try weakly what he used to do tri-weekly.
You may also have similar spellings to what appears to be the same word, but the definition may be very different.
.....He was humbled by the applause. (humble = modest, meek)
.....He was humiliated by her words. (humiliated = shamed)
Don’t confuse words like temerity (recklessness) or timidity (lacking boldness); flare (a signal light) or flair (style); or ordinance (law or rule) or ordnance (artillery). Use your word processing thesaurus and make sure that a substitute indeed fits.
An emotion can change the meanings of words. If your character is depressed and bemoaning “I don’t care” it expresses hopelessness and dejection; however if your character is angry, slamming doors and yelling “I don’t care” it means resentment or annoyance. Adding a word like “please” turns an arrogant demand into a softer request.
You can have fun with semantics by allowing a character to twist the words another character speaks. The young man who walks in on a teenage girl wearing a mud mask and tattered sweats, and then tries to alleviate her embarrassment by saying “don’t worry, you couldn’t look any better” may be put on the spot to explain himself. Did he mean that she was beautiful no matter what? Or did he mean that nothing could improve her disheveled looks?
Some terms are acceptable to specific age groups as well and could give the word a benign or a negative meaning. So make sure that you know the target audience you are writing for. If you are contributing to a magazine, check our who their readers are. If you are writing a novel, understand first WHO you want to read your book and write it for them.
Writing exercise: To the best of your knowledge, write the meaning of the words below and use them each in a sentence. Anticipate, anxious, bored, board, collage, college, hip, hype, famous, infamous, pawn, porn, rabid, rapid, wood, would.
Writing prompt: Many of us call the family pet a member of the family. If your pet were human, what attributes would you use to fit “this person” into a zodiac sign?
