#writerscoffeeclub Jun 21: Can one use arcane verbiage in one's prose, or must one's saga embody only elementary text?

I love throwing less familiar words into my novels and upsetting Grammarly. It really hates the word Sceptre, especially as I don't use the US spelling.

If you don't know a word, Google it. You might learn something.

My favourite is Obfuscation. I use it everywhere 🙂.

@johnhowesauthor Sometimes it doesn't even have to be arcane but just unfamiliar to other readers and it can create confusion — or a superirority complex 🙂

I used the words "tarred macadam" in one of my novels to describe the road since it is (or used to be) a common term from where I was. But a US reader accused me of "inventing" words after reading. it.

Of course, it's possible that he took my name to mean that I wasn't familiar with English, but that's another story ... 😛