In today’s Journal
* 10 Lesser Mistakes Writers Make, Part 2
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
10 Lesser Mistakes Writers Make, Part 2
4. Using Likely as an Adverb (sigh)—
I’ll get this one out of the way first.
“Likely” is an adjective, albeit one that ends in “ly,” as do many adverbs.
Despite its widespread misuse because it sounds cool or whatever, “likely” is synonymous with “probable,” another adjective. It is not synonymous with “probably,” an adverb.
“Snowfall is probable” means exactly the same thing as “Snowfall is likely.” (In the second sentence, the unspoken but implied “to occur” follows “likely.”)
But “probable” and “probably” sound similar. Hence (I believe) the initial confusion and the resulting decision of many dictionaries to list “likely” as both an adjective and an adverb… and therefore synonymous with both.
Those dictionaries are wrong. “Likely” (adverb) does not mean the same thing as “probably” (adjective).
I believe the rubber stamp approval of those dictionaries resulted from the fact that it’s easier to change a definition than it is to correct wrong usage.
But you are a writer. I strongly advise you against using “likely” as an adverb because the usage will alienate some readers, me among them.
Yes, I know I’ll get blowback on this one, and that’s fine. You do you.
But you have to draw a line somewhere against the dumbing-down of the language. As a writer, you can draw that line in your own work. Or not.
I hasten to add, if you choose to disagree with me, that’s fine. But I defy anyone to explain why using “likely” is preferable to using “probably.”
5. “Try And”
Um, no. Despite its widespread and common misuse, it’s never “try and.” It’s always “try to.” (I wonder how much argument I’ll get on this one?)
Hint: If you want to correct this one with Find & Replace, be sure to put ” try and ” (notice the spaces on both sides of the phrase) in the Find What block and ” try to ” (also with the spaces) in the Replace With block. Otherwise, chances are you’ll replace things you don’t want to replace.
6. “Knew”
Try not to use the phrase she (or he or character name) “knew.” Instead, omit the phrase and see whether the sentence works just as well.
Most of the time it will.
7. “Now” or “Today”
You very seldom (if ever) need to write the words “now” or “today” in narrative in fiction. (If the character uses them in dialogue, that’s fine.)
Past tense is the natural voice of narrative, and both of those words refer to the present.
If you’re writing in present tense, the reader already knows it’s now or today.
8. Phrases to Avoid
Try to avoid phrases like “he admitted” or “she had to admit that” or “he couldn’t deny that.” Such phrases answer a question the reader hasn’t asked.
For example, writing “he couldn’t deny that he was jealous” implies that someone asked him whether he was jealous.
Likewise, writing “she had to admit that she was wrong” implies that someone was interrogating her and she finally gave in.
Using these phrases is an example of author intrusion. Authors most often do this (unconsciously) to increase their word count or pad a story.
However, if the story is written in 1st person (so the POV character is also the narrator) there is much less chance of author intrusion.
For example, it’s fine for the character-as-narrator to say “I couldn’t deny I was jealous” or “I have to (or gotta) admit I was wrong.” Though depending on the context it might still be better to write “I was jealous” or “I was wrong” instead.
Still, those won’t pull the reader from the story because they are not coming from the author. They’re coming directly from the character to the reader.
Likewise, a character can use the sense verbs (see this post) more freely than the 3rd person narrator (author) can.
The character-narrator can say “I saw (heard, smelled, etc.)” something or “I could just make out” something.
Again, that’s the character talking directly to the reader. Not the author talking to the reader on the character’s behalf (“telling”).
9. Overstating the Obvious
Don’t write that a character “nodded her head yes” or “shook his head no.”
When a character nods, the action always means yes. When he shakes his head, it always means no.
And while we’re at it, don’t write that a character “nodded her head.” (Yes, I also wrote about this a day or two ago. It bears repeating.)
What else is she gonna nod, her elbow? That’s right up there with “she shrugged her shoulders.”
10. It’s About Time
Although it’s often misused, “while” ALWAYS indicates a simultaneous passage of time. The writer who writes “while” most often means “although” or “even though.”
Again, these are all easy fixes with Microsoft Word’s Find & Replace feature. For a free tutorial, click the link in “Why ‘Lesser’ Mistakes?” in yesterday’s post.
11. Unnecessary Abbreviation (Yeah, this is a bonus.)
For various reasons, I understand writing “TV” instead of “television.”
- Each sounds different.
- One is less formal than the other.
- Writing TV provides a different rhythm for a sentence than writing “television” provides.
- Writing one instead of the other can also give a passage a different feel.
- Maybe the character prefers one over the other.
But I’ve never quite figured out why some writers abbreviate “okay.” It’s only four letters, and it sounds exactly like the abbreviation: OK.
It isn’t quite the same as TV vs television or a “cool kid” character saying “rad” instead of “radical.” Those words have the same denotation but slightly different connotations.
But “okay” and “OK” are exactly the same, except that the all-cap OK can be disruptive to the reader.
If you know why some writers abbreviate “okay,” and if it’s anything other than laziness or they write “OK” just because everyone else does, can you explain it to me please?
This is another bit of nonsense that is easily fixable with MS Word’s Find & Replace function.
This ends the series of posts on the more common mistakes writers routinely make. (grin) I’ll be back tomorrow with something a little different.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
Best Self Publishing Courses: Which one is right for you?
Do you speak Gen Alpha? Might be good to know if you write young adult or teen angst stuff. (Somehow, I managed to get 6 out of 7 correct.)
Related: 50 Gen Alpha Slangs You Need to Know
In the 1930s, a skyscraper was rotated 90 degrees while everyone kept working inside. Story ideas abound.
The Numbers
The Journal……………………………… 1090
Writing of Blackwell Ops 28: Ariana Ramos
Day 1…… 2583 words. To date…… 2583
Day 2…… 1339 words. To date…… 3922
Day 3…… 1526 words. To date…… 5448
Day 4…… 3941 words. To date…… 9389 (Sep1)
Day 5…… 2734 words. To date…… 12123
Day 6…… 2584 words. To date…… 14707
Day 7…… 3711 words. To date…… 18418
Day 8…… 3668 words. To date…… 22086
Fiction for September……………………. 16638
Fiction for 2024………………………….… 605152
Fiction since October 1…………………… 800426
Nonfiction for September………………… 6870
Nonfiction for 2024………………………… 281740
2024 consumable words………………… 779079
Average Fiction WPD (September)……… 3327
2024 Novels to Date……………………… 12
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 5
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)……………… 94
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 242
Short story collections…………………… 29
Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer, but please try this at home. You can do it.
On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Unreasoning fear and the myths of writing are lies. They will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.
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