Reporting in from the sidelines...
It seems all I do lately when I post to LJ is let folks know I'm still around, but still coping with a lot of physical problems. Am I sick of that? You bet. So this is the only space I'm wasting in it: I'm alive, still haven't had the surgeries yet and in misery from the epidurals they keept giving me in a effort to reduce the pain. Grrrr.
Editor Thoughts
Thesaurus 101: If your heroine can't decide between two lovers, please DO NOT have her oscillate between them. She might vacillate or she might seesaw or even blow hot and cold between them. But oscillate? What is she? An electric fan?
Kiddos,what you've got to think about when you go looking for "different" words to amp up your manuscript is that there is more to a word than just its definition. You need to ask yourself: How do folks use that word in everyday conversations? Does it fit where I want to use it? "Oscillate" is most nearly connected to electric fans nowadays. The mental image a reader might get from: "Valerie didn't know what to do. So she oscillated between Joe and Jack, unable to decide which man was the right one for her", isn't one the author has in mind, I'm sure. As an editor I'm more impressed with authors who use plain ol' every day words in unique and individual ways than writers who must spend hours combing dictionaries and thesauri for some neato oddball word, certain sure that the more they have the more impressed us editors types will be. Um...nope. Use your craniums, children, and your common sense.
Something cool from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NhFaZyFrA
Be good, everyone. And if you can't: bury the bodies and settle out of court.
hugs,
Teri
Editor Thoughts
Thesaurus 101: If your heroine can't decide between two lovers, please DO NOT have her oscillate between them. She might vacillate or she might seesaw or even blow hot and cold between them. But oscillate? What is she? An electric fan?
Kiddos,what you've got to think about when you go looking for "different" words to amp up your manuscript is that there is more to a word than just its definition. You need to ask yourself: How do folks use that word in everyday conversations? Does it fit where I want to use it? "Oscillate" is most nearly connected to electric fans nowadays. The mental image a reader might get from: "Valerie didn't know what to do. So she oscillated between Joe and Jack, unable to decide which man was the right one for her", isn't one the author has in mind, I'm sure. As an editor I'm more impressed with authors who use plain ol' every day words in unique and individual ways than writers who must spend hours combing dictionaries and thesauri for some neato oddball word, certain sure that the more they have the more impressed us editors types will be. Um...nope. Use your craniums, children, and your common sense.
Something cool from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NhFaZyFrA
Be good, everyone. And if you can't: bury the bodies and settle out of court.
hugs,
Teri