One habit is using the word so. I don't use it as often in my fiction writing but on my blog, I may have used it too often. So is a very see-saw word - sometimes it sounds right and other times it sounds a bit childish. Another is run-on sentences - I don't actually think it's wrong to use them because people have a way of thinking that they sometimes do not pause in between thoughts but I guess in writing, it would seem wrong because periods allow the reader to get the meaning without having to figure out where a thought begins and where it ends.
Sometimes it's a thin line between what is writing style and what is correct grammar. There's an author who does not use quotation marks and people love that author's books and editors and publishers are certainly not correcting them so is this a style or a bad writing habit? In a way, habits that we associate as being bad can be a style of writing.
I think people are brought up in certain ways that their language in thinking and writing is a certain way that becomes habit. We can't stop our habits just because someone or a whole bunch of someone says it's bad or wrong. But I guess in terms of grammar, what's wrong is wrong but is it wrong? We are used to other people's standard to judge our own habits. Even if you are good at making your own judgements and even think you are an independent thinker, it doesn't mean you aren't influenced by others.
It's not easy to unlearn habits you have formed and kept for a long time. I certainly don't want to lose all my habits (good or bad) because they are hard to lose and because I like some of them.
What writing habit (or habits) you think are bad but still use?
[More about the group over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here]
Good to know our habits -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteChristine: I suppose it's good to know your habits especially with writing which you can sort of correct it.
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I overuse exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDebra: I might have noticed that. I guess I'm the opposite, I rarely use exclamation points.
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I certainly use a lot of exclamation points like Debra, but it's not just that, when I go to write or think about a story my protagonist is a young woman. I'm trying to change that.... Right or wrong I don't know, after all who's to define it? It's whether what you're writing ultimately concerns a lot of people? Can they identify? Should you add something to what already exists?
ReplyDeleteKaterina: You don't have to stop writing young woman protagonist. I think you can write what you like. There's a reader for everything.
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Grammar (and language) has changed over the years to the point that I don't know what's correct anymore. And there's not always an agreement on what that is. I try not to worry too much about my writing on my blog. I have an informal style that is different from when I'm writing a business letter or such. With that being said, I use "so" a lot, too. Along with "a lot" and "that". Who knows what else? It would be interesting to do an analysis. I don't write much of anything else where I'd have to up my game.
ReplyDeleteLive and Learn: It's true, grammar and language rules can change and not everyone can agree on what's correct. I like informal writing, especially on a blog, sometimes I think of writing my posts as if to friends so I'm not always formal. I also use 'a lot' and 'that' plenty of times. I think we all have such habits where we use the same certain words or phrases often, mostly out of habit and also, you learn with time and use.
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Oh boy, I use "so" too! It's such a natural word to slip in there. All over there, actually. LOL. So...
ReplyDeleteJean Davis: 'So' is that a word that I can't help but use. Sometimes it might be a bit too overuse so what...
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I use "so" too. I use "that" way too much too.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Aguirre: Same here. Honestly, trying not to use words you have been using most of your life is kind of a hard habit to break.
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I'm another "so" user. I'm going to have to do a search for it as I get to the final editing stages.
ReplyDeleteJenni: I don't think it's a bad word to use, I just sometimes think less is better but who knows.
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The incomplete sentence. I use it for emphasis when the mood hits. I get called out on it, but sometimes I just have to go for it. hehehe
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
emaginette: I think some thoughts you don't complete so it's not at all a bad thing to use incomplete sentences.
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As a non-native writer, I use a dictionary all the times, and I find English a hard language to write without any errors. Most of all the commas and prepositions - and sometimes the spelling too. Spell checker is also sometimes more of a bother than a help!
ReplyDelete'So' is also one of my weaknesses, and I use 'very' a lot. And I can't help teasing people writing alot - telling them about the alot invented by Hyperbole and a Half.
Charlotte: I guess it would be harder on non-native English writers to use English because some grammar rules are just weird. And spellcheck is often a bit too helpful by making you think a word is misspelled and offering the wrong words to use instead.
DeleteI don't mind people correcting my grammar. There's humor in the incorrect. But I'm not a grammar master so I can't really tease people about their mistakes.
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I also tend to write long and involved sentences in my first draft, but I always fix that problem in the revisions. I think shorter sentences read better. As for writers who write as if putting a stream of thought into their stories - I dislike such style and don't read such authors. I think it is an affectation, not a necessity. A story - any story - doesn't demand it. And that is the only occasion where it could be OK.
ReplyDeleteOlga Godim: Shorter sentences does read better as I am often told. I don't like stream of thought or stream of consciousness either but some people like it.
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Since I have been in journalism, and I have been handling hard news for more than three decades, I think my writing tends to be very "news like". That's what someone told me. I don't know.
ReplyDeleteAll said and done, our writing style is what characterises us. Nothing right and wrong about it.
(My latest post: Kerala in monsoon: A road trip)
Pradeep Nair: You're right, our writing style is what characterizes us, or at least, our habits. Also, our experiences can alter our habits such as writing.
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