This weekend, my wife will be in Houston tending to family matters. Please, if you know her, wish her well. I never had any sort of close relationship with my parents, but I can imagine that it is a painful ordeal to see them ill if you do. So, I will be home...just me and the doggies and a stack of scary movies...and my PS3, XBox 360, guitars that are begging to be played...and work. I have editing on two different projects that are not mine as well as the final sprint to finish the 7th book in the DEAD series. So, no...I won't be bored.
But, I might be just a teensy bit lonely. I am one of those guys who likes his "alone" time. I like peace and quiet (since I had very little in the past decade...this is some catch up). However, I will be checking my blog and email more often than usual. SO today seems like a good day to pose a question that will get people talking (I hope).
As an author and an editor, I have a few pet peeves. Now, while I hardly think that my stuff is perfect, I do take pride in how well edited it is when it hits the world. So, here is the chance for you readers--and even other authors and editors--to share. What are some of those groan-worthy things that you see far too often on the page.
Here is mine. And I have to be honest...I was a HUGE offender until I had a writing teacher point it out. Now, it is like that annoying person who chain smoked four packs a day and then quit. Yay for them for quitting, but they can be the worst anti-smoking zealots EVER. (And no...I was not ever a smoker...blech!) I cringe at the "thought to myself" line. Ummm, who else would you think to? That is wasted wordage.
In other stuff, the best commercial on television is the one for +Dollar Shave Club. (The longer version can be seen here Dollar Shave Club if you have missed this little gem.) Now I am a naturally skeptical when it comes to ad claims. This one was no different, but I finally went to check them out. The two-bladed razor is a buck as advertised. But they have the four- and six-bladed for a bit more. For nine bucks a month, I get a six-blade pack that arrives in the mail each month. I keep my head smooth (and my face). So I put it through the paces. I skipped a couple of days to let my stuff get thick. It went through it like buttah! And the blades last just as long as those expensive ones! Also, nothing used to irk me more than for a blade to be useless after one shave. Guys, (and maybe the ladies, too, I don't know) you know what I mean, right. You shave once, then the next time it feels like the razor is plucking each individual hair from your face. And even worse, the shave is such that you are scruffy again in just a few hours...and itchy. So, dudes, if you have been wondering...yes, it is as good as Mike says.
Anyways, have a great weekend. Share some literary peevishness...and wish Denise well on her trip.
I think it is funny - I don't like the "thought to himself" line either. But I used it this morning because in my Fervor series I often have to differentiate...one of those problems that crops up when writing about telepaths. I even thought about this exact thing as I was writing it. They *do* think to other people - in fact, that's usually the case. If I just say "he thought" he is more than likely thinking it to the person or people he is with. If he is keeping his thoughts to himself, it is important to specify that. Of course, this is the exception. Unless you are writing about telepaths, he thought should suffice.
ReplyDeleteI used this line all the time and never thought about it until my teacher pointed it out to me. However, there is always an exception to every rule...and when dealing with a character whose primary source of communication IS thought (telepathy or what have you) then I do think you probably need to clarify sometimes.
DeleteSide note, I brought up an old story of mine and did a "FIND" for that phrase...23 uses in a 10,000 word short. Gads.
Repetitiveness at the beginning of serial books, that little catch up that authors think they need to give... erm, you have faithful readers picking these up and trust me THEY probably know the story line and characters better than YOU! and if some dimwit has picked up book 4 to start the journey with then they are too stupid to be allowed to read such fine workmanship and should be told to "pack it up and put it back in the box" as the joke goes!
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe that most of my readers know my story and the characters better than I do at this point. So I agree totally. I have tried to keep the "flashback catch up bits to a minimum. And not that I am going on 7 books into the DEAD series, I find the need to be a line or two at best, and then I am usually just trying to set up something with a bit of foreshadowing. So...I am in agreement with you Vix.
DeleteHi Todd, it's Wanda. As a reader, I find it jarring when the wrong homophone is used. "His gate was that of an elderly man." "She poured over the pages avidly." "The sun had reached its peek." Twice in the past week I've seen the word "exasperate" used instead of "exacerbate." And those don't even sound alike! I could go on, but I'm sure you've encountered your share of homophonic sins.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah...editing exposes you to a lot of those. And when I go back and edit my stuff...yikes. I just get to typing and my brain does its own thing sometimes. I actually found "the lightening flashed in the sky" in one of my books that made it through THREE edits. BTW, hope that the books arrived safe and sound! Can't wait for the reaction when book 7 hits the ground in September.
DeleteI hate it when they get the there, they're, their and the your, you're mixed up...petty but it drives me crazy
ReplyDeleteWhen I see that in a book I stop reading, if the author is seriously that grammar challenged they should not be writing... or let someone else use there (! haha) ideas!
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