Prideful
If you are full of pride, you are proud. This prideful thing is unnecessary and longer to say.
Nauseating
I can understand this one. Nauseous means nauseating (to induce nausea). However, it often gets used to mean nauseated. So when you hear someone say nauseous, you’re unsure whether they really know what they’re talking about. I suggest sticking to nauseous as much as possible.
Reoccur
Yep, the rule is to add re- to a word to mean do it again. However, occur already has a word for “occur again.” Recur. Save a syllable.
Orientated
Whoa, what happened to orient? It’s a great word. Orient is a verb, oriented is the adjective, and that’s all you need here.
* * *
Are there any others you can think of? I’ll add them to the list.
Books are a great medium for dialogue. Deep conversations, arguments, banter, and scheming between characters make books engrossing. Do not fear long conversations. Let’s look at “decorating” the dialogue:
“Hi there,” she said.
“Hello,” he said.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
“Pretty well,” he said. “How about you?”
“Just fine. How is your grandmother doing?” she said.
“Better, I think. Thanks for asking,” he said.
First of all, there’s nothing wrong with said. It’s invisible. It’s neutral. If you go out of your way to avoid it (using instead commented, replied, queried, etc.), you will draw attention to the dialogue tags and away from the dialogue itself.
Second of all, the dialogue runs smoother when the dialogue tag comes after the first sentence of dialogue instead of at the end of several (or many) sentences of speech.
“Pretty well,” he said. “How about you?” Better!
“Just fine. How is your grandmother doing?” she said. Meh
You don’t need a dialogue tag every time, of course, if just two people are talking:
“Hi there.”
“Hello.”
“How’s it going?”
“Pretty well. How about you?”
“Just fine. How is your grandmother doing?”
“Better, I think. Thanks for asking.”
After a few lines, though, the reader loses track of who’s talking when. You can solve this problem and the problem of too many dialogue tags by interspersing some simple action.
“Hi there.” She paused in her walk.
“Hello,” he said.
“How’s it going?” She began tapping her foot nervously.
“Pretty well.” He glanced up from his feet. “How about you?”
“Just fine,” she nodded. There was an awkward pause. “How is your grandmother doing?”
“Better, I think. Thanks for asking.” He gave a small smile.
That’s rather overkill, but it gives you the general idea. Note how just a bit of action made the boring dialogue more interesting.
Any questions or comments so far?
Eats, Shoots, & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
☆☆☆☆
Nonfiction
If you lament the illiteracy of the world, you can commiserate with this book. Here you will find sympathy for the pain of abused punctuation.
For any true stickler, you see, the sight of the plural word “Book’s” with an apostrophe in it will trigger a ghastly private emotional process similar to the stages of bereavement, though greatly accelerated. First there is shock. Within seconds, shock gives way to disbelief, disbelief to pain, and pain to anger. Finally (and this is where the analogy breaks down), anger gives way to a righteous urge to perpetrate an act of criminal damage with the aid of a permanent marker.
It’s short book written by a Briton, filled with humor but also concise rules of punctuation. She also addresses American punctuation, which is slightly different. I knew about these rules but hadn’t known some marks have different names. Highly recommended for any writer, editor, or grammar nazi.
We read privately, mentally listening to the writer’s voice and translating the writer’s thoughts. The book remains static and fixed; the reader journeys through it. Picking up the book in the first place entails an active pursuit of understanding. Holding the book, we are aware of posterity and continuity. Knowing that the printed word is always edited, typeset and proof-read before it reaches us, we appreciate its literary authority. Having paid money for it (often), we have a sense of investment and a pride of ownership, not to mention a feeling of general virtue.
