Just call me Granny Grumpy. I’m the one who’s blunt and undiplomatic and
prefers direct to obfuscated. I’m also the one, though not the only one I’m
sure, who thinks language matters.
Hence, I’m the one who gets to share tidbits from the real world of
reading. The ones that annoy and
infuriate, and before ereaders, resulted in books being flung across the room. You know, the things that make you wonder
about – well, about all those things Granny Kind and Granny PC don’t say out
loud. And, truthfully, mostly, neither
does Granny Grumpy.
For example –BDSM-themed stories apparently unaware ‘dominant’
is a noun, and ‘dominate’ is a verb and the difference matters. Or books unaware there’s discreet and there’s
discrete and the latter isn’t a typo with respect to the former.
Sure, they’re little things, and mostly simple and
easily fixed. Overlooking them is
easy. Trust me on that one. I’ve written enough and edited enough to get
that. I’m usually good with that until I
start seeing them in book after book after book.
Because, as I said, language really does matter and
as authors it should really matter to us.
Language is how we communicate, how we share. Stories, believe it or not, tell and teach
and shape and frame and reflect change.
They aren’t just entertainment.
That doesn’t mean they’re in your face, sharpened teaching tools meant
to initiate wholesale change ala Louisa May Alcott. It does mean stories, even genre fiction, even
romances, are someone’s voice. They’re your voice and your words. And, in the great electronic backlist of
ebooks, they’ll be around a while, maybe.
So maybe, knowing that, using your voice correctly,
with intent, is worth a thought or
two.
With that in mind, know the Grumpy Granny also
hasn’t enough time lately to tap her cane on this soap box very often. Usually, she’s off oohing over geeky
things. Online things. Online things writers might use. Like Lino
– the online sticky site that is a storyboarder’s nirvana and includes a free
option.
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