Being Cranky Makes You Critical

I’ll be laying around, my broken leg in a brace, for about 23 more days until hopefully the doctor gives me the green light to walk again. In the meantime, I’m reading, doing a little writing, critiquing, and yes, watching the Olympics and slogging through social media. Lots of words being read, written, said–and misused.

Photo by Ron Lach : https://www.pexels.com/photo/portrait-of-unemployed-woman-with-head-in-hands-9832687/

Don’t Do This- Please

It annoys me when writers say ‘could of’ when it should be ‘could have’. Same goes for ‘would of’ instead of ‘would have’. This one may be a personal pet peeve, but when I read “get hold of” I really want you to write “get a hold of” or “get a hold on”; I think the ‘a’ makes it smoother. Maybe some grammar genius will confirm this. And if you write “we were sat” (like at a table) I have to throw your book across the room and scream. It’s “we were seated”.

I Can See How Old You Are

Okay, we all know (or should know) language evolves. Groovy and sick as words denoting coolness are out. People using them, respectively, have grandchildren who’ve graduated from college or are watching their own kids get ready for high school. So WHY would a writer use old, outdated words that would cause current readers to say “Huh?” Words like “ninny”. And who calls a love interest ‘Dear’ unless it’s your grandparents? Or old phrases. My kids, or current readers, have no reference for “throw the baby out with the bathwater” or “till the cows come home” or “hanky panky” so I don’t use them. You shouldn’t either. Of course, you also don’t want to use words that will be cliche in a year or so. The only exceptions would be if they are endemic to the period or locale. You can’t have a story set in the 60’s, in the hippie movement, and not use ‘groovy.’

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-in-blue-dress-standing-beside-cow-on-green-grass-field-4919674/

That’s probably enough crankiness for now. Go, rediscover your thesaurus.