Day 263: Use distinctive words only once, or rarely.

A distinctive word is any word that catches the readers’ attention. It may be unusual, be used in a new way, have a particularly harsh or pleasant sound, or be colloquial. It may have an emotional connotation. Consider this sentence.

“The press corps arrived with flamboyant enthusiasm for the speaker.”

The distinctive word here is “flamboyant.” The reader will ask, “What does it mean to have ‘flamboyant enthusiasm’? What does ‘flamboyant’ mean in this context?” This makes the distinctive word a form of HUPA.

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When you use such a word, you create a strong emphasis on the word, which means your reader will pay attention to the word. This is risky because it pulls your reader from the flow of the ideas and forces him or her to focus on the word. It also makes your reader stop momentarily to think about what the word means in this context. But it does have an impact.

If you use a distinctive word, only use it once—or rarely. Each subsequent use will lower the impact of the word, and the overall effect you are trying to establish will be lost.