Booking Through Thursday asks:
“What are your literary pet peeves?”
Comma Usage. I am a believer in the Oxford Comma, for starters, so when I see, “The flag was red, white and blue” as opposed to, “The flag was red, white, and blue”, I see red. I will always recommend more commas.
Also, The Favorite Word. Just because a particular noun, adjective, or adverb was effective the first time does not mean that it will retain its effectiveness when used repeatedly over the rest of the novel. Synonyms, people! Synonyms!
And finally, in professionally published works at least, Careless Typos. If you’re going to bother getting the book published, at least get a good editor and proof reader! One typo can slip by, but when I see a book that’s riddled with them, it sets my teeth on edge.
Apparently my literary snobbery is farther along than I thought…
April 20, 2012
Golden Bookwyrm
The Bookwyrm's Lair 
6 responses to “Literary Pet Peeves”
David
April 20th, 2012 at 23:24
A note on commas: your “bad” example is actually the correct British way of using commas in lists. I learned that when I started writing essays for my professors in Scotland — they were quite clear. Took me awhile to get used to, but now I sometimes still leave out the final comma due to force of habit. So basically, it depends where the book is published. American: one, two, and three. British: one, two and three.
Aye, the Favorite Word can be quite troublesome if it gets out of hand. Especially if it’s a bland word. And EVEN MORE ESPECIALLY if it’s used for the same descriptions over and over. It really suggests that the author needs to envision his subject with greater depth and complexity, and acquire a vocabulary to reflect that. Still, a careful author can employ a favored word or phrase to his advantage, by only using it appropriately, but still uniquely enough that it becomes a fond trademark. Like how Rosemary Sutcliff often has characters use the phrase “it is in my mind that…” instead of “I think.” It fits the settings and she doesn’t over use it, but I don’t hear any other authors employing that phrase. So whenever I read it, I smile fondly, and sometimes use it myself.
Golden Bookwyrm
April 20th, 2012 at 23:59
I had heard that both comma uses are correct – I was just taught the American way, which makes it come more naturally. Ironically, my dad was taught the British way, so even in my own household there’s a division of preference! Lol!
The repetitive descriptions really are the worst. One of my favorite authors does it constantly when describing the tones of voice that her characters use. I respect so much about her work, but that one flaw is a big one. It really gets distracting after a while.
By the by, I’ve always wanted to visit Scotland (must be the Campbell blood in me calling); did you enjoy your time there? Any particular favorites?
Terpsichore
April 23rd, 2012 at 07:44
This doesn’t sound like snobbery to me; it sounds like common sense and solid writing.
jubilare
May 9th, 2012 at 06:01
Commas confuse the living daylights out of me, but I was taught to avoid them when possible (by re-constructing my sentences rather than leaving them out, of course). As a result, commas are a recurring problem in my writing, so I will indeed need a good copy-editor.
As for the rest, I wholly agree with you.
Golden Bookwyrm
May 9th, 2012 at 15:02
I was taught that commas just indicate a breath pause (when not being used to separate items in lists, of course), so I tend to use them a lot – especially in some of my more convoluted sentences. As it is, since no one, not even English professors, can really agree on how they should be used, they’ll be a grammatically grey area for a while! 😉
jubilare
May 9th, 2012 at 20:10
Perhaps forever, English being what it is. 🙂
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