Against the use of dictionaries and other extraneous materials

[Billy Genocide]

>
>
> I don't imagine many novelists ever look up the words they use in the
> dictionary. Unless to check spelling
>
> Actually, as a writer myself, I can say that the dictionary is very useful
(especially the OED). A writer well acquanted with etymologies can express
him/herself more precisely and suggest much more than a writer who assumes
that language is transparent. Where the use of a dictionary can become
problematic to the creative process is when it's taken as an authority whose
definitions one cannot deviate from-- for this is absolutely contrary to the
artistic expression of words.

The Thesaurus is the real poison.

--
The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.
-Chaucer
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