Comments | qnotku: Dis and Dat...and some other stuff

qnotku

Dis and Dat...and some other stuff

Oct 14, 2006 02:59

Decided to take a shower after working on our Eurydice & Orpheus story. During the shower I had some editor thoughts that I decided to share with you. Aren't you just the lucky ones?

( Deep Editor Thoughts, Obtained While Getting Wet )

writing, editing

Comments 9

whitemunin October 14 2006, 12:48:40 UTC

I use "pale". I love the word. I love the images it conjures, the way it looks on paper, how it sounds when I say it out loud. So, I use it ALOT.

**snort** Your example of adverb abuse is priceless.

Guh, I've been caught a few times with a dependency on spell-checker. Thank God for tough, sharp-eyed betas.

This last - this is soooo true. Very easy to lose the reader because when you, the writer, are reading it, you know the scene without the words. There's an unconscious assumption when you write something like that sentence your readers will know it too. Great example of what went wrong and why it's so easy to miss ( ... )

qnotku October 14 2006, 19:46:06 UTC

Any time!

As for the descriptives, I remember one writer who used, "Gage had a long, lengthy body." Um, okay. He's tall. Maybe he's really tall (he wasn't) but "long lengthy" is just saying the same thing twice ( ... )

wenchamok October 14 2006, 14:07:08 UTC

I get so sick of forced usage of synonyms for "said." Yes, in many instances, using something other than "said" is fine -- "snorted," "chuckled," etc. But I hate seeing "noted," "commented," just tossed in. The eye reads right over "said" with no problem, so quit putting the other stuff in for no good reason! :)

qnotku October 14 2006, 19:48:13 UTC

Oh this is a hot button. And I so agree. It's a lot like using the thesaurus...a little goes a LONG way.

Teri

wenchamok October 14 2006, 19:54:59 UTC

I just wanna flog some of my reporters for it sometimes... :)

hutch0 October 15 2006, 00:39:47 UTC

Well, that's pretty much everything I've ever written into the shedder, then...

hutch0 October 15 2006, 00:42:29 UTC

The observant among you will of course have noticed that I meant to say `shredder.' Damn, another gag totally destroyed by a low battery in the wireless keyboard...!

trollbabyfeet October 16 2006, 02:58:28 UTC

Empty Adverbs: are you completely sure about this? ;^)

Double, triple and fourfle check to make sure it hasn't missed a correctly spelled wrong word. Hmmm...my spellcheck didn't catch fourfle. Must need an update!

I know. I'm mischievous. I'm in a mood. What can you say? OH! I just realized I Repeated words. Sorry! :P

trollbabyfeet October 16 2006, 02:59:56 UTC

***tbf is now ducking to avoid the shoe, sword, spoon, computer or other objects Teri is hurling at her head***