"Just Friends" And Hundred-Dollar Words

One particular teacher I had in elementary school had a habit of harping on hundred-dollar words at every opportunity. Other teachers brought it up from time to time, but it was pretty much her thing.

Saying hundred-dollar words was meant to encourage kids to, dare I say, use an enriched vocabulary when writing. Using words like gigantic or massive instead of big. Often, it was explained that using these hundred-dollar words over simpler alternatives would make your writing that much better.

There's value in this, sure, but it can also be detrimental.

The concept of hundred-dollar words was often misconstrued to emphasize using the most impressive-sounding synonym we could throw a dart at, which would have our persuasive essay assignments reading like Joey's recommendation letter written on Monica and Chandler's behalf and signed as Baby Kangaroo Tribbiani.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPNKY7l41PU

It placed a focus on making your writing sound impressive and cool rather than making it make sense to your reader.

This approach carried on into my earliest attempts at writing fiction. I was of the mind that using these hundred-dollar words would make my book be taken more seriously, especially as a writer of historical fiction with upper-class characters who would totally gravitate towards words like capacious and verisimilitude in everyday conversation (seriously, I was fixated on the word verisimilitude for whatever reason). Old-timey genteel folks use big fancy words, right?

But there came a day I was self-editing and I had to pause because I had no idea what the character was trying to say. If I, the writer, had no idea what was going on, how could I expect my reader to?

Clarity is key in writing. You could have the best story ever, but if your reader can't make sense of it because you prioritized finding consummate and innovatory language over what would get your point across more effectively, what does it matter?

Let me be clear: this isn't about dumbing things down for your reader, as I believed once upon a time. You're not insulting their intelligence by simplifying things. You just keeping them from having to devour a word salad and hope they don't choke on it.

Bold word choices can also be distracting if they don't fit the overall tone of your story or genre.

That was my experience with Just Friends by Haley Pham.

via Simon & Schuster

This book crossed my radar because of a contentious ARC review posted to TikTok and some drama surrounding it. Among the comments in the video was one about some of Pham's word choices throughout the book feeling clunky.

I ended up reading Just Friends for myself and, frankly speaking, the reviewer isn't wrong where Pham's word choices are concerned. I wouldn't go as far as to say

As a disclaimer, this post is not directed towards Pham, or anyone on or associated with her team.

Just Friends is a contemporary new-adult romance, which follows Blair as she returns to her hometown to help her tend to a sick relative. Shortly after her arrival, she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, Declan. The story explores their friends-to-lovers romance as teens, the fallout, and reconciliation as adults.

Just Friends ended up being a two-star read for me. There were points where the pacing felt rushed, with some things feeling like a Chekov's gun that wasn't shot later, or others that felt like they came out of nowhere but could have been a decent payoff had they been built up earlier in the story. While there were a couple of cute moments throughout, I wasn't feeling the chemistry between Declan and Blair.

But my overall critique centers on Blair's narration and the use of hundred-dollar words.

I wouldn't go as far as other reviews I've encountered suggesting that Pham got ahold of a word-of-the-day calendar and decided to throw every entry she could into her manuscript. However, there are a couple of word choices that sound impressive but don't align with the overall tone of the book.

A few examples...

"That feeling is personified in my stomach right now" - Page 1

"I have to yield to a conglomerate of pedestrians almost every ten feet." - Page 2

"Roshi's use of my nickname causes the genesis of our friendship to spring to mind." - Page 41

"But the gregarious sounds of laughter tear through the room regardless." - Page 78

"I sit on my hands and look out the window, avoiding the invisible wall of frisson I feel every time I sit this close to him." - Page 246

As a reader, these hundred-dollar words were distracting.

"The genesis of our friendship" is the one that stands out most to me. Technically, genesis is a synonym for origin or beginning. But using genesis in this context is jarring.

One of my professors in college often spoke about writing so your reader isn't reminded that they are reading a book. You want to create an immersive experience that your reader can sink into. Essentially, avoiding potential distractions that would pull them out of the story—including the use of hundred-dollar words.

Something along the lines of "...the beginning of our friendship" or "...reminds me of the night we met" would have made for a smoother reading experience. Genesis just doesn't fit the tone of a rom-com.

Are there times where a hundred-dollar word serves the story better? Sure. Twilight is a great example of that. Bella does gravitate towards hundred-dollar words, but it's done in a way that makes her feel like an old soul who would be compatible with a hundred-some-odd-year-old vampire.

Even though there is a throwaway line in Just Friends about Blair being an aspiring writer who loves impressive vocabulary words, it doesn't feel authentic to the character. It feels flowery for the sake of being flowery.

When you're first starting out as a writer, you'll often be told to write for yourself first. There is merit to that. But when you're crossing that bridge into publishing your writing, you have to think about your readers' experience. It's not about dumbing things down. It's about telling your story in the smoothest, most efficient way possible.

Because if you're getting too caught up in flowery language, your reader is going to get lost in the meadow.