Tricky Edits Column for August 2026

Tricky Edits

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Finding the Precise Word

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the winningest book in her 
HowToDoItFrugally Series for writers, The Frugal Editor,
now in its third edition

This will be short, but I had to share. I was working with a very savvy client of mine and found that she wasn’t using—wasn’t even aware—of a feature in Word designed for the forgetful as well as the writer who is particular about the words they use and that is probably all of us. (It also works to alleviate the strain of entertaining the possibility of dementia rather than spending that time to explore some of the new tests available to see if we need to be concerned about it!) 

Let’s call it the Synonym/Dictionary writer’s aid.

It’s the one you find by right clicking on any word as you type. If you know that one, keep reading anyway, because you might not be using its best features … that is, you might be giving up if that first list it supplies for you doesn’t quite do the trick! This is more than a one-click magic! Indulge in a couple more clicks and you might be thanking Dawn for allowing me to do anything I want with this “Tricky Edits” column! (-:

FOUR TINY STEPS TO A MORE PRECISE VOCABULARY

1. Right click on the word you don’t remember or the one you’re substituting for the perfect one you can’t think of in the moment. You get a pop-up on your screen.

2. Scroll down to “Synonyms.” Click on the word on that list you are happiest to see. It will appear wherever you parked your cursor in your manuscript instead—no extra typing needed.

3. But what if the pop-up shows twelve suggestions and they are all, well, sort of blah! This is where you don’t give up. Click on the one closest to the meaning you’re looking for.

4. Aha! Another pop-up list (and replacement in your manuscript!). Ignore the replacement and pay attention to the new pop-up. Sometimes it includes a word that means the opposite of your original. Sometimes it’s just a new list; either way it almost always offers a few for your consideration, words you don’t know or have never used.

Step number three can be repeated several times and might eventually come up with something suitable. The thing is, if it doesn’t, it likely takes less time to than thumbing through a Thesaurus. Don’t worry. You can always resort to a thesaurus—preferably a glorious, fat, paper or hardcover edition. Most times, though, you’ll get the help you need—or at least feel assured you ended up with the best choice possible.

MORE ABOUT YOUR #SPARREW CONTRIBUTOR:                                         

The triptych that Amazon provides the authors of series published by their KDP unit. It feels like a bonus. 

Once a month Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares something writer-related she hopes might save some author from embarrassment (or make the task of writing more fun or creative.) The third edition of The Frugal Editor from Modern History Press includes contact list magic. It is the second multi award-winning book in her multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. Find it on Amazon’s new buy-page for series where the e-book is offered with one click of online’s version of a set of books. (The availability—free—of that new page for authors with book series that appear on KDP’s pages is another of her #FrugalBookPromoterTips.) And her winningest book, The Frugal Editor, has been fully updated including a chapter on how backmatter can be extended to help readers and nudge book sales. And watch for her new book on—you guessed it—word lists!

This article is an excerpt from a new vocabulary book written especially for career-minded authors that WinningWriters.com will give to those who enter their 2024 #NorthStreetBookPrize. Carolyn has been a sponsor since that contest’s introduction. This book is among the several value-added benefits Winning Writers contestants and winners are offered at no extra charge. Carolyn’s book will be released in early 2026 by Modern History Press. Find the entire series on a special Series Page offered by Amazon.

Carolyn blogs sporadically on editing at The Frugal Editor and at her SharingwithWriters blog on other aspects of the publishing world and welcomes guest posts with ample author credit lines and links and welcomes guest posts complete with credit lines and ample links for her guests. She also tweets writers' resources and tips at her Twitter account using #FrugalBookPromoterTips hashtag.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program where has found a little humor can decidedly make a lot of learning easier on one’s disposition. 

The books in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers have won multiple awards. That series includes both the third editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and my The Frugal Editor.Published by Modern History Press, they have won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award. How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethicallyis still in its first (very frugal!) edition but please wait for the second edition from Modern History Press. 

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts.