Some Pet Peeves

Every author, writer, storyteller has pet peeves. So does every reader, for that matter.

For instance, the simple things peeve me, such as its v. it's, and your v. you're. Compliment v. complement, and so forth, you get the picture. Usually a simple edit will take care of these sorts of errors, but you run into them in emails and blogs quite often.

Also, quit and quite and quiet. Gotta be careful with those boogers!

For writing, one of the most common peeves is the "had" placement. When the author needs to flashback, place a few "hads" in the beginning, and then drop the rest.

He had gone, he had run, he had bought, he had left, etc. Drop the had. After the first couple, I get it, we're in flashback.

Another peeve is the "like" analogies.

"She had hair like a bird's nest."

Ugh. Come on, let's do better than that!

How about, "Her hair was a bird's nest!"

Or, "Her hair looked better suited for holding bird eggs than a hat."

Or so forth. Some "like" analogies are okay, but some authors use them far too many times. A general rule, for me, is no more than one "like" per page, and I try to avoid them altogether, unless I'm feeling lazy, or it just sounds better that way.

In any case, "like" is sloppy and lazy. Drop it when you can. I do.

But, then again, who am I to judge anyone's writing but my own!


- Eric