If you ever get sick of writing a character's name over and over so use phrases like "the other" or describe them by characteristic ("the baker" "the brown-eyed man"), please read this:
Personally, I think the whole stance in that article is absolutely ridiculous and reads WAY too much into the writing. This is one of those "omg the blue curtains obviously represent the author's intense depression and struggle with suicidal intentions".
Sometimes? The curtains are just fucking blue.
Also, I love how everyone in this fandom acts as if abusing epithets is this rampant disease that never goes away. Heads up: any first year college writing course will break a fandom geek of their epithet habit. (Mostly because they ARE sloppy writing; just not for the reasons in this article.) They might drive you crazy, but it's one of those things that most decent writers outgrow. It's really not anywhere NEAR as a big an issue as people around these parts make it.
It's an issue because it's such a small, fixable thing but it bugs us when we're reading otherwise good fic. I posted this because I want to help people out, so I'll have more good fic to read. :D
Also, a lot of us have not taken creative writing courses and will not ever take them, and epithets never came up in my writing courses (non-creative writing).
idk if you'll even see this, but... it's really not such a "smaller, fixable thing". You're talking about someone breaking ingrained writing habits that may have been developing for years, not to mention them changing a part of their writing style. That takes effort, work, and time. And changing it after the fact is even more work, because it means you have to rewrite good chunks of your fic so they make sense again without the epithets while also not being overly redundant.
I'm speaking as someone who has broken this habit. It is not easy, and it is not small for the writer
( ... )
No, no "English Composition I" was required for my United States college. Most colleges here have some sort of writing requirement these days, but that's neither determined at the federal level nor standardized across colleges.
I'm sorry it was so difficult for you. But apostrophes are really difficult for some people, and yet it is generally considered acceptable to whine about apostrophe abuse in fic.
1. No. There is a massive difference between apostrophe usage and epithet usage. Apostrophes are not just good grammar; they are grammar. Not using them is not an option, because not using them is flat out incorrect. People have every right to whine about apostrophe abuse/misuse because it is not bad writing; it's wrong writing. Epithets, however, are not 'wrong' in any shape or form; whether or not they are used is dictated purely by personal preference. There is no rule of grammar or writing that says they can't be used. Completely different thing
( ... )
http://trickster.org/arduinna/epithet.html
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Link is very helpful and I'm learning a lot. Thanks Anon-san
Reply
Reply
Reply
Sometimes? The curtains are just fucking blue.
Also, I love how everyone in this fandom acts as if abusing epithets is this rampant disease that never goes away. Heads up: any first year college writing course will break a fandom geek of their epithet habit. (Mostly because they ARE sloppy writing; just not for the reasons in this article.) They might drive you crazy, but it's one of those things that most decent writers outgrow. It's really not anywhere NEAR as a big an issue as people around these parts make it.
Reply
Also, a lot of us have not taken creative writing courses and will not ever take them, and epithets never came up in my writing courses (non-creative writing).
Reply
I'm speaking as someone who has broken this habit. It is not easy, and it is not small for the writer ( ... )
Reply
I'm sorry it was so difficult for you. But apostrophes are really difficult for some people, and yet it is generally considered acceptable to whine about apostrophe abuse in fic.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment