I don't like it when they say that "over" 10 billion burgers have been served. It should be "more than."
I
hate it when a novelist constantly says that his protagonist "made his
way." Why can't he walk, strut or stumble? Or just fall down and die?
I really, truly hate it when they say
that the First Annual Joe Schmoe Memorial Fun Run will be held Saturday.
We don't know if it's an annual event. Maybe they'll run out of money,
or maybe the fun run chairman will run off with somebody's wife.
I don't look at an event as annual until
the third year. They've proven something to me by then; they're not
going to give up. They have people and a plan. They're going to find
another chairman if he runs off to Acapulco.
To me, the first event is inaugural, not
first annual. The next year, it's the second running of Joe's fun run.
The third year? It's third annual.
And I really hate it when writers use whom all of the time. If this keeps up, Pete Townshend's band will be The Whom.
I worked with a guy years ago who hated the use of "over" when "more than" would have
worked. Over, he said, worked with the cow jumped over the moon; over
doesn't work when more than 10 billion burgers have been eaten.
Another editor didn't like to use names
in headlines, especially if the person wasn't famous. He also didn't
like to start a story with a name.
Yet another editor hated it when
newspapers use the word hike as a verb, as in, "The New York Yankees
hiked ticket prices yesterday." They also raised prices, and that'll do
nicely.
I hate it when a writer uses less when
fewer works better. "GM is building less cars this year" makes me throw
up. GM is building fewer cars than last year.
I have problems with
attribution in a novel. I can stand exclaimed as a verb to replace said,
and whispered is perfect. He whispered, and she exclaimed. Great.
But then a novelist will write, "I
haven't felt right in years," Julia sniffed. Julia may have sniffed
before or after she said it, but she didn't sniff it. She said it. A
better way: "I haven't felt right in years," Julia said. She looked away and sniffed into a handkerchief.
I hate it when a novelist uses no
attribution at all -- it's tough to tell who's saying what. And I really
hate it when the novelist expects me to remember Sally, Joan, Martha
and Lula Belle without a scorecard. I probably can remember Lula Belle
for obvious reasons. It might help to occasionally remind us that Sally
and Joan are cousins, and Martha is Sally's next-door neighbor.
My greatest pet peeve is a lazy writer
who won't re-read his stories a few times to find typos or other
mistakes. He misses repetition and changes in tense. And he misses
repetition (yes, I'm pulling your leg). This guy thinks he's perfect the
first time, and he's always wrong.
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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE
MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES
BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE
ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE
ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG
BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)
