Today, the #bookadayUK event suggestion is 'The nearest book to you right now'. I'm in my study and there are books lining the walls to my front and back, about equidistant. So, the obvious choice is the only book on my desk. That's a 1987 edition of Roget's Thesaurus. An excellent word-finder.I know there are writers who suggest that you should have only difficult access to a thesaurus, making your mind do the work. But I write as a pantster and therefore use the first word that comes into my head as I create. I don't wait for the 'best' word at this stage. When I edit, I then select the best word or phrase: that, after all, is what editing is all about. So, I have my trusty thesaurus handy on the desk.
It isn't my only word-finder. There is, of course, the built in thesaurus provided by Word: a largely inadequate tool that rarely furnishes the bon mot. I also have a copy of Hartampf's Vocabulary Builder, The Oxford Compact Thesaurus, J.J.Rodale's The Synonym Finder, and The New Nuttall Dictionary of English Synonyms and Antonyms. So, I'm pretty well provided for in terms of books for finding alternative words. Add to that the Wordweb app that sits in the tray and, together, they make a pretty formidable team.
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