"I know a few big words, and sometimes I use them where they make sense. I am a professional writer, after all. It's fun to use a big word in certain spots, and not even for the cheap ego boost. I just like it when there's a specific word that sounds exactly right for the thought I'm trying to convey."
"Fast forward nearly 20 years, and I'm writing my first draft of . I'm laying out this scene in a forest, and suddenly my mind remembers the word "esker." I throw it in there, because it helps flesh out the setting. Then the book comes out and I get a bunch of people going, Where the fuck did he get the word "esker" from? That was cool."
Someone enjoys using big words when they fit because exact words convey thought with precision and pleasure. A college geology professor introduced the term "esker" (a long ridge formed from naturally deposited sediment). Years later that term appears in a forest scene in a first draft, prompting readers to ask where the word came from. English offers vast opportunities to discover and share new words. Repeated exposure can be necessary to learn terms like "ouroboros." Stefan Fatsis published a book explaining how dictionary entries possess individual histories and paper trails.
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