words and their meanings... or not

 

Let's start with-- What is a trope?

Next could be-- it's the word I was avoiding last week. I had looked up the dictionary meaning before deciding against using it in the blog. But then, I began to think about the various ways it can be taken. With the expansion, it seemed like a good subject as it's broader in its meaning that I read from the dictionary. 

First, the dictionary meaning that I found: cliched, figure of speech, common or overused term... 

With that, it's easy to see why I backed off in terms of connecting it to my writing.  What writer wants to think their theme is cliched?

That's not how I've heard of it for marketing books. It was used as we'd use keywords. Let the reader know what they'll get. I thought that once they see  your book via a trope, it's up to you to show them why your book is different. Tropes are important as readers do have to find books in searches. 

As I expanded my thinking, I thought of the various ways a trope might be used by a writer. First is when looking for the next topic or theme, what do readers want? It would depend then on whether, as a writer, this pays the bills, or if you can afford to write what your muse is delivering to you via dreams, reading, or what you suddenly think of from seemingly out of nowhere. What fascinates the writer, then how to mix it up with the tropes that are selling best in that specific genre.

For the literary minded, trope is probably a bad word, and it's easy to see that if someone studies the NYTimes best selling list. Does a book about drug dealers have a trope? How about from a child growing up in a horrible home, and now wanting to share what that meant? Maybe it does but some of the bestsellers, thinking Where the Crawdads Sing, and I have no idea what the trope, for it, would even be. Yes, I have read most of that book as I loved that title.

Where it comes to using tropes, it can be a cover or title that the writer has to find after writing the book-- or maybe sometimes, before writing it, as a way to keep on a path.

For me, I come up with titles later. Sometimes it works well for me and to hopefully find readers but other times, not so much.

With bringing out my eight new books, which are rewritten older books, I am thinking of tropes that might work. If the writer uses Amazon to sell books, they have their own set of rules that must be considered-- whether called Tropes or Categories.

BTW, I chose a sunset photo to head this blog because sunsets alone can be seen as tropes. Maybe cliched as in used a lot, but they do speak to us-- one way or the other.

 

Back to editing... such fun lol

 

 In writing for publication, the reader has to be taken into account-- whether it's a blog, story, or book. The author desires to write their story and that's the most powerful part of the initial draft-- at least in my case. I try to get the grammar right at the same time, but not at the point of losing my flow. 

Then, comes editing... Although writers could send their manuscripts off to a professional editor right away, most go through many edits before doing that. After all, they are the main ones to know the theme they are trying to portray. 

When editing, it's not just about possible typos or misspelled words, missing commas, etc., but also what readers will find disrupting to their experience with their own flow of reading.

Here's where trouble starts with words we typically misuse when speaking; but when written down, they become more obnoxious to a future reader-- especially readers of the anal sort, who know all about the English language as it should be. Catching those things before that reader does might avoid a review that says-- needs more editing. Well, for the writer, those who read reviews (many choose not to do so), the question has to be what did they find that annoyed them? Maybe a split infinitive that we might often have in our speaking but woe unto the book where it's found by those distracted by that exact detail.

There are words that I often will try to find a different word to avoid because I don't want to have to look up and figure out which version is right for that sentence. There are words that I pretty much always know the correct version, but know very well that when I am talking to a friend, I might use the word wrong. They don't care and neither do I as it's not written down.

The program Grammarly is useful for some of this but with books not so much. It can only go over so much text, certainly not a book where the writer intends it to go to say 100,000 words. That requires breaking writing into sections, which is disruptive for me in terms of creative flow.

The English language is full of words that can be taken two ways but spelled the same. Working a crossword puzzle is a good reminder of that. 

So, I thought I'd mention one word that often makes me stop and think when I am using it--- and feel I must use it. Lie or Lay, present tense, and all their past tense and .future/past perfect tenses. That's where lie and lay get more complicated for which version to use. 

Add to it that lie has another meaning-- to not tell the truth. That though is easier to make into past/perfect tenses and past tense. He lied to me. I have lied. I will have lied if I go on with  this. You are lying to me. Adding an -ing makes it past simple. Confused yet? No wonder a writer sometimes chooses a different word.

In the previous paragraph I purposely used a split infinitive-- to not tell the truth... To satisfy a purist, that should be not to tell the truth. I personally don't see a difference in understandability, but I am no purist. I did also look split infinitives up, and it's not the rigid rule for grammar that some believe. That doesn't mean writers do not need to watch out for what might ruin another reader's enjoyment or even for them to lose the theme, which matters to the writer. Sometimes, to avoid that is not a minor change, and it would work against the writer's intent, but when it is minor, why not change it?

Now, let's get to the other meaning of lie and lay-- to recline or to put something down. Here is where how we talk often goes against how we need to write. I could easily say, "I am going to lay down, but would that be correct? I came across this in Thesaurus.

"Lay means “to place or put” (Lay that here). The word lay is also the past tense form of the sense of lie that means “to recline,” as in I lay in bed yesterday. Lay down can mean “to place down” (Lay down your bags), but it can also be the past tense of lie down, as in I lay down for a few hours. A nonstandard but common use of lay is to mean the same thing as the present tense of lie, as in I just want to lay in bed for a few more minutes or I laid down for a few hours. It’s best to avoid this use (and the confusion it can cause) in formal contexts." quote from Lay vs. Lie How to use correctly.

For anyone wanting more about correct usage of these words, go to that link. I've had enough going through it to last until the next time I face the issue *s*.

The app for Grammarly can be a big help, when used in editing-- not so much the first draft, in my opinion. It can really break a flow. It is also only free for the simplest version. To catch more errors of all kinds, it costs but not that much for the help it offers.

 

definitions change with the times.

by Rain Trueax
 
There is a quote that floats around claiming a Chinese curse says—may you live in interesting times. It turns out it’s not Chinese, and there are different opinions on from where it originated. [Quote Investigator]

Certainly, we do live in interesting times. Despite the many advantages, for those of us who live in what are considered developed countries, sometimes the fast movement of events does feel like a curse. Things change, or what we thought was true, suddenly is proven false. Conspiracy theories abound (if you are not up on these, head to YouTube, it's rife with them). 

This is not just happening in the United States; but as a country with global influence, some believe it’s our fault wherever bad stuff happens.  I think we do have a lot of influence, but with a changing world, that might not last. Nothing ever does.

The post below is about cultural shifts. It's not partisan but might appear political to some. Of course, it is-- all human interaction eventually gets down to political maneuvering.