Friday Feature - Writing Tips: Epithets

[green_grrl]

Writing Tips: Epithets

with examples from Lord of the Rings, Stargate SG-1, Smallville, Due South"Epithets?" you say. "Doesn't that mean cursing?" And it's true, we most often hear the word in the context of "hurling epithets at each other

Comments

[blue_meridian]

Brilliant! Well written and very informative. Inappropriate epithets are one of my pet peeves in fan fiction, but I couldn't have articulated why.

[green_grrl]

Thanks! I'm glad this was useful.

[tejas]

Thank you! There've been times when I've written a sentence and it felt wrong, but I didn't know *why*! Now that I know why, I'll be able to fix it in the future!

[green_grrl]

That's what we're here for, ma'am. :-)

(Honestly, I haven't noticed it as a problem in your work, so you obviously listen to your instincts!)

[tejas]

Oh, good! I had a teacher once who called me an 'instinctive grammarian'. This is all well and good, except that when I *do* question something, I have no clue. :-):-) Generally, when in doubt, I rewrite until there is no doubt. :-);-) Knowing is much more efficient. :-)

[green_grrl]

Knowing can help you pinpoint and eradicate the problem more quickly, true. But good instincts are an excellent first line of defense.

[advection]

Great article. Yay!

Elegant variation (hxxp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elegant_variation) is a related pitfall -- the feeling that you have to find as many different ways to refer to a character (or an object) as possible. There's nothing wrong with names -- hear, hear!

[tejas]

Except! Except, it *can* be boring and repetitive and did I mention boring? But then, that's where the skill bits come into writing. ;-);-)

[advection]

I disagree. In good, clear writing, the use of nouns and pronouns isn't boring and repetitive. If the writing is boring and repetitive, there are flaws in it that elegant variation is only going to exacerbate, not rectify. :-)

[tejas]

Which is why I added the comment about skill. ;-) As to the article you cited... YIKES! You're quite right about that sort of thing. That's just poor writing. Language should be clear and meaningful.

[starglyph]

I love the review questions at the end. Makes for a great checklist.

I hope you guys plan on tagging these posts and the questions/answers, for future reference. This comm can be a incredible resource.

[green_grrl]

\o/

Yes, there will be tagging! We hope to be a useful resource. Thanks!

[lady_ganesh]

theemdash made sure we had tagging duties sorted out before we started, heh.

[tejas]

*virtual flowers, chocolate and naked people of her choice offered to theemdash*

[velocitygrass]

That was great. Loved the examples, because they made everything very clear.

Thank you!

[green_grrl]

Thank you! I'm glad it worked for you. :-)