I'm writing about a tree. A really big and majestic one. I want to describe it, but I keep overusing the word 'tree.' I want to stop using the word 'tree,' but all the thesaurus gives me is stuff like 'shrubbery,' which fails to capture what I'm going for, and a synonym archive gave me lots of varieties of trees, and some words that I assume meant 'tree' in a language I don't speak. Or maybe really obscure english. Anyway, I need help.
Intrepid Explorer Squire of the Green Room Harbinger of the Cosmic Squid Brief Castaway Founder of Hermits United TIME Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year Dark Matter Overlord Kind of a Big Deal
You'll probably want to pinpoint what kind of tree you're writing about! Just looks up 'trees' and see where it takes you (but of course make sure you find one that's could be in the area of your story.
Once you have a type of tree, not only do you have the type of tree to use instead of tree, but you also have is its an evergreen or a deciduous tree. For example, if you used a fur tree, it would be an evergreen as well.
Other than that, I don't think there's many other options besides getting creative and using imagery stuff, like the leafy giant only less corny than that example!
Like Holy said above, you might think about what kind of tree you want to use, so you can replace "tree" for example, with "oak" or "poplar" something like that. And if the tree is SO important, consider giving it its own name. like Yggdrasil--it's significant in Norse mythology and it has a name.
But anyway, does the tree have its own POV? Or it's a story? Or is it an important artifact? Place? Mythical object?
Intrepid Explorer Squire of the Green Room Harbinger of the Cosmic Squid Brief Castaway Founder of Hermits United TIME Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year Dark Matter Overlord Kind of a Big Deal
I agree with the advice given above, which is probably the best you'll get. A mixture of both ideas would probably be what you want. Like "living giants whose ever-reaching limbs tickled the stubble of the sky's rays" or "endless rows of serene oaks poked at each other until the harsh, judging glare of the dawn meets them each morning."
Just, don't focus on calling them trees by saying "yo here's a tree", focus on describing them. Let the reader's senses make the word "tree" and not your writing.
All the ideas here are great, but I got one more! I suggest giving your tree a gender, using those pronouns to refer to it instead of "it" or "the tree". It would also give your tree more character, if that's what you're going for. Hope this helps! =)
“I warn you, if you bore me, I shall take my revenge.” -J.R.R. Tolkien
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
