The human brain is a fascinating organ. In an average adult, it weighs approximately three pounds and is the most complex component of the body. It’s important to keep the brain as healthy as possible because it controls thoughts, movements, emotions, muscles and all systems in the body. A healthy brain is essential to a writer. It turns out that some of the things you can do to exercise your brain also help improve writing skills, such as playing word games.
Word games incorporate various parts of vocabulary education, including the knowledge of, spelling, construction and meaning of words. Playing such games on a regular basis boosts brain power. It can also help you become a better writer.
What does playing word games have to do with writing skills?
A more sophisticated phrase to describe the activity known as “word games” is “semantic games.” Linguistics (study of language) includes several types of semantics. Each type basically has to do with word meanings, as well as the relationship between specific words. Playing word games helps increase understanding of semantics, which, in turn, boosts knowledge and understanding of language. This, of course, can help improve writing skills.
Word games can help you expand your vocabulary
As a writer, an expansive vocabulary is like a storehouse of valuable goods. Choosing one word over another can not only change a specific sentence but can add or detract from the overall tone, style and pleasure of a particular story. Playing word games on a regular basis helps you learn new words, as well as new ways to use words you already know.
What are the best games to play?
There are many types of word games. You might be better at some more than others. The following list includes numerous examples of games you can try to boost brain health and improve writing skills:
- Puzzles, such as crosswords or word searches
- Fill-in-the-blank games
- Popular games online or cell phone apps, such as Wordle, Quordle and Phoodle
- Analogy quizzes
- Scrabble, Boggle or similar games
- Charade games where players must guess words by observing a teammate’s silent actions
- Anagrams—forming new words from base words by rearranging letters, such as “tutor” from “trout.”
Each style of game has a unique effect on the brain. The more types of word games you play, the better!
Make it part of your daily routine
Successful writers usually have a few things in common, one of which is that they develop daily writing routines. Many authors have a strict writing schedule, meaning they block out time each day to devote to writing. If you want to incorporate word games into your daily routine, you can easily work them into the time you set aside for writing.
Consider word games as warm-up exercises. They start the “wheels of the brain” turning and awaken your thoughts. Runners stretch out their muscles and perhaps do a few jumping jacks or jog in place before heading out on a run. This prepares the body for running. So, too, should writers prepare their minds for the task ahead. Playing word games is a great way to do that. If you want to improve your writing skills, start playing word games each day.
