Visual Thesaurus: A Writing Tool

I came across Visual Thesaurus completely by accident. I was looking for software that would help me organize the chaos in my mind. I know, not an easy task but a lot of my good ideas get lost in all the muck my mind produces. I didn’t find anything that would work for me, mostly because after I found this thesaurus software I got caught up in exploring what it does different than my processors software. I found a thesaurus indispensable when actively pursuing the writing craft. We all have a tendency to use the same words over and over. By varying words that mean the same thing it can help creative writing come alive and a thesaurus can spark the mind into developing great metaphors.

What’s interesting about this software is how it displays the associated words. A long time ago I found a book by Gabriele Lusser Rico, Writing the Natural Way. The Tag line reads: Using Right-Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers: Clustering, Recurrence, Re-Vision, Image and Metaphor, Creative Tension, The Trial Web, Language Rhythm. It is a good book on unleashing stifled creativity through specific applied techniques. The only reason I’m mentioning this book is that the Visual Thesaurus software is using the clustering technique to display associated words.

The image is from Visual Thesaurus and they are clearly using the clustering technique, a visual display of like-meaning words, though not in quite the same way as in Rico’s book. Clustering, according to Rico, is a magical key to unlocking the secret reserves of imaginative power. It’s the first step to bypassing the logical, orderly Sign-minded consciousness to touch the mental life of daydreams, random thoughts, remembered incidents, images, or sensations.

Clustering is a nonlinear brainstorming process akin to free-association. It makes an invisible Design-mind process visible through nonlinear spilling out of lightning associations that allows patterns to emerge. Clustering is a writing exercise that accepts wondering, not-knowing, seeming chaos, gradually mapping an interior land-scape as ideas begin to emerge.

The image was taken from Rico’s book (click on the image for a larger view) and while clustering isn’t about finding a different or better word to use when crafting a story, the concept can be applied to what the Visual Thesaurus does provide. It may excite your senses enough to spawn new ideas for a story or merely offer other word choices. The software includes a definition for the main word and the little red dots also provide definitions of the words connected to them. They have a free demo. I’ve placed the free lookup search above my posts because it’s a cool tool and I liked the idea that my readers can search from my blog. It will take a few seconds for the word search to open but it’s worth the wait.

The software can be purchased and used on your desktop or you can purchase the online feature. I can’t decide which one to get. The desktop version is a one-time fee of $39.95 but you’d have to pay for any future updates. The online version is a smaller fee, $19.95 but it’s only good for one year, though all updates are included. There’s also a one month version for $2.95. I don’t think the online version would be good for those on a dial-up connection but if you have highspeed it could be the perfect choice. I may try the one month version and see if keeping everything I might use it for online is good choice or if it’s something I’d rather have on my desktop. Decisions .. decisions .. but whatever I choose will make my muse happy. She is jumping with glee because now I’m feeling an impulse to re-read Rico’s book and pen a creative thought or two.

I just had a thought … someone should create software for clustering. Not a search for a new word kind of thing but empty form fields encircling a word that can be filled in and with the ability to add more form fields attached to a word or group of words, similar to the image from Rico’s book. Now — if only I were a software developer — I could make a fortune! Hummm, maybe it’s been done already? I’ll have to do a search and see what’s out there in cyberdom. If anyone happens by and knows of software like this, please leave a comment. Or, if anyone tries the Visual Thesaurus, let me know what you think of it.