4.5 Avoiding Lazy Writing

AVOIDING LAZY WRITING
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As writers, sometimes we get lazy. We know what we want to say, but sometimes in our haste to say it, we take shortcuts. Sometimes we use abbreviations and acronyms as a form of shorthand. Other times, we use words and phrases that are so much a part of our vernacular that they have become worn out. While other times we simply get words mixed up in our own heads and just try to muddle though rather than take the time to understand the differences. All of these kinds of words fall into one of four categories:

          Abbreviations and Acronyms
          Cliches and Fad Words
          Sound-Alike Words
          Jekyll and Hyde Words


Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations make use of periods, while acronyms make use of capitals, although they can get all mixed up together. One way to explain the difference, and similarity between the two, is with an example. If we wanted to shorten the name for the United States, its abbreviation would be U.S., it's acronym US. Both should be avoided wherever possible. As with all writing, however, there are no hard and fast rules. It's a matter of using your best judgement. Consider the following example:

         He had measured it to be one in.

In this example, the author abbreviated inch. However, the abbreviation used may cause the reader to stumble at the end of the sentence, appearing as if a word had been left off and forcing a re-read to understand the meaning. It's not worth saving a few keystrokes if the result is a loss of clarity.

Yet abbreviations need not be avoided completely. Consider the abbreviations a.m. and p.m. No one expects authors to write ante meridian or post meridian when writing about time. What about A.D. and B.C.? Again, no one expects an author to write out Anno Domini (which means in the year of our Lord) or Before Christ. Although today, in order to avoid religious overtones, C.E. and B.C.E. are sometimes used instead. C.E. is a substitute for A.D. and means the Common Era. B.C.E. is a substitute for B.C. and means Before the Common Era.

In technical writing, some abbreviations are commonly accepted. The abbreviation "ibid," is an abbreviation for "ibidem" and indicates a reference cited immediately before the current reference. Another latin term commonly used, "et al."(1), is an abbreviation for "et alli" used in place of a long list of authors where only the first is mentioned, meaning "and others."

Some latin phrases should be avoided at all cost, especially in fiction writing. The term "etc.", which represents "et cetera", means "and so on". Other latin terms to avoid are "e.g." ("exempli gratia", meaning "for example"), and "i.e." ("id est", meaning "that is"). Instead of writing these latin terms, choose to simply write out their meaning. The following is an example of what NOT to write:

They went to the zoo and saw animals from the dark continent (i.e. the continent of Africa); e.g.: elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, etc.

Re-write it this way:

They went to the zoo and saw animals from the dark continent (that is the continent of Africa); for example: elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, and so on.

Acronyms, as well, should be avoided where possible. Acronyms are usually formed using the first letters of long descriptive elements, most often the name of an organization. But as long as the letter can be found in the word or words that they represent, they can be used. And they don't always apply to names of organizations.

The postal codes for states in the United States is a good example of both of the above. Usually they are the first two letters of a state, or the first and last (WY for Wyoming and PA for Pennsylvania). However, that must be modified at times to reduce duplication. Alabama and Alaska cannot use the same first two letters, and their last two letters are the same. So AK was chosen for Alaska. Thus, an acronym is not always the beginning letters.

Regardless, acronyms should be avoided at all cost in your writing—even the common ones. For example, never use IRS for Internal Revenue Service, AA for Alcoholics Anonymous, ER for emergency room, PIN for personal identification number, ATM for automatic teller machine, CEO for Chief Executive Officer, or even US instead of United States. Write them out.

Yet once again, we are faced with a dilemma. Some acronyms seem to be okay to use (notice I did not use OK, but spelled it out). That's because they have become an integral part of our speech. Consider AIDS (Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome), SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), and RADAR (radio detecting and ranging) that have become a part of our common speech and are difficult to define. They may be used as is. Just be very careful which ones you think are appropriate. You can lose a reader if they don't know a particular acronym.

Acronyms have become an integral part of technical writing, which carries over to fiction writing. We know what AIDS means now. When it was first presented in medical circles, it required definition because it was unknown. It's proper to use many different acronyms, but only after first defining them. That's because an acronym may often be repeated throughout. It's easier to supply an acronym than to write out the full text each time. After defining it, the acronym can be used with impunity.

This can occur with either the acronym coming first, or the explanation first. In the following example, both are correct.

When connecting to the Internet Provider (IP), make sure to to provide a valid PIN (personal identification number).

In fiction writing, it's usually worked into the sentence, rather than using parentheses.

That's when they instituted ASP, the Author Selection Process.

For both abbreviations and acronyms, always re-evaluate those you choose to use, basing your decisions on what will be most clear to the reader without sounding awkward.

One final note: When making acronyms plural, just add an "s" without the apostrophe. For example: CDs and UFOs. For those with internal periods, add the apostrophe. For example: Ph.D.'s.


Clichés and Fad Words

For the most part, I by-and-large avoid clichés like the plague. In no way, shape, or form will I allow them to muddy up the waters of my writing. There is just no rhyme or reason to red-light their use in any statement of fact. But lo and behold, these odds and ends are always in the thick of it. God willing and the creek don't rise, I hope against hope that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel and I won't get backed into a corner. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sometimes, a ridiculous example is the best way to explain something. The preceding paragraph is almost completely filled with clichés.

Where do clichés come from? Usually, an author coins a new phrase that seems fresh and full of imagery. Soon, everyone begins to use it, simply because it's easier to do so than come up with a unique way of writing something. Suddenly, it has become worn and useless. When it does, it can become annoying to the reader, and identifies the author as a novice writer.

It's difficult to avoid using them. They creep into writing so easily. I know, because I caught myself a few times while writing this. However, there is no shortcut to writing well. It takes effort to select every single word or phrase for its appropriate meaning. Whenever words start coming to you in groups, or chunks that seem magically interwoven together, be very careful. You may be in the process of writing a cliché.

Fad words are as bad as clichés. They are words that have not yet mutated into cliches, but are like some pieces of scrap metal laying around, just waiting to be welded together. They are usually new words that already have a simpler, more direct word that can be used in their place. The following are a few examples:

         Closure
         Consensus-building
         Continuum
         Infrastructure
         Interface
         Multitasking
         Networking
         Paradigm
         Prioritize
         Spin-doctor
         Stakeholders
         Synergy

Did you ever listen to a new song and absolutely love it? Then you played it over and over, or heard it on the radio so much that you eventually got sick of it? That is what fad words are like. They sound classy and meaningful at first. That is, until everyone starts using them and you soon get sick of reading them.

They also have no shelf life. You will want your writing to stand the test of time. However, when you use fad words, future generations will probably not understand them and your writing will become dated. A perfect example is "23 Skidoo," a fad word from the 1920s. Very few people today understand what it means, and yet is was part of common speech at the time. You won't even find it in the dictionary, so if you use a modern fad word like that in your writing, it will quickly loose its value.

We even have fad words in writing. "Blog" quickly comes to mind. At one time, writers simply wrote in journals or diaries, now they blog. And it can be used as both a noun and a verb. Which means you can write, "I'm blogging in my blog." That shows you just how faddish the word has become. Perhaps it will stand the test of time, but perhaps not.

Another example from writing is "Chic Lit." Not long ago, it began to encompass fiction writing related to women's coming-of-age issues. Today, the first author saddled with that term, Jody Gehrman, feels it is dated and admits it was really just a publisher's marketing ploy at the time. (2) Try not to get caught up in using these words.

Most times, these words enter our vocabulary through the media. Advertisements count on potential customers to remember a product based on new fad words. They are like fad diets that get promoted without thought to long-range consequences. We simply have to try them out because we're looking for that special image to create with our words, and then suddenly we are saddled with them and can't seem to remove them from our vocabulary.

Don't fall into the trap of using fad words when other, more simpler words will suffice.


Sound-Alike Words

ALTOGETHER or ALL TOGETHER. All together means all the parts or pieces assembled together at one place or at one time. Altogether means completely or entirely.

All together, the results from our research seem to support no conclusion. Yet, that conclusion could be altogether wrong.

ALL READY or ALREADY. All ready means completely prepared. Already means by this time, implying a past action or existing condition.

The Army of Tennessee was all ready to cross the river. The cavalry had already crossed to secure the bridgehead.

AFFECT or EFFECT. These two are quite confusing—a sound-alike that is probably misused more than any other. Affect means to have an influence on. There are other meanings, but this is the one that gets confused with effect, which means to produce a result or outcome. And always remember, it's take effect, and your personal effects. There's no easy way to remember the difference, just try to remember.

When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it.

ASSURE or ENSURE or INSURE. The meanings of these words are badly mixed. They have been used so loosely for so long that the original meanings have melded. All three come by one way or another from Latin (securus + cura = safe from care). All three have been used to mean to make safe, to make sure of, to guarantee. Digging through the tangle, the basic meanings can probably be pinned down.

Assure—To put beyond all doubt.
Example: I assure you that this is what really happened.

Ensure—To make certain of.
Example: To ensure a good crop, the farmer used the best fertilizer.

Insure—To guarantee against a loss.
Example: In the 1940s, 20th Century Fox insured Betty Grable's legs for $1,2500,000.

ACCEPT or EXCEPT. Mix up these two, and you can really mix up the meaning. Accept means to receive willingly or favorably, or agree to. Except means the opposite—to exclude or omit.

I thought I was accepted by them, but in fact I was excepted.

THEREFORE or THEREFOR. These two are not the same. Interesting how one little "e" on the end can make all the difference. Therefore means so, and therefor means for that.

Therefore, he was punished therefor. (So, he was punished for that.)

PRINCIPLE or PRINCIPAL. These are two very different words that sound exactly alike. A principle means a fundamental truth or doctrine. A principal is the chief or head of something, usually a school. My high school English teacher told me the way to remember the difference was that the Principal was your pal. I'll comment no further.

The principal of my high school started a new dress code based on principle.

AESTHETIC or ESTHETIC. For an unknown reason, some words just look better than others. Aesthetic is a perfect example. There is a general trend today to get rid of dipthongs. These are two vowels used together yet pronounced like a single letter. Anaesthesia is another example. Yet, sometimes the look of a word adds meaning. Or it can add to its emotional impact. In general, the trend toward simplifying words is good, but ...

Somehow aesthetic looks more aesthetic than esthetic.

Jekyll and Hyde Words

These are words that on the surface appear similar, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who were the same man. Yet deep down they have different meanings or add a different tone to your writing. Some result only in awkward writing, others are simply wrong.

PERSON or PEOPLE. I was once told that an individual was a person and that people are always a nation or a race. Therefore, a group of individuals were persons. Some people actually still believe this. Yet it results in some very awkward writing. Remember, you should write the way you talk.

Correct but awkward: Only 30 persons came to the party.

Natural but incorrect: Only 30 people came to the party.

NUMEROUS or MANY. Writers who are tempted to use numerous should be told that many is a shorter and stronger word than numerous. Besides, can anyone really tell how much is numerous and how much is many?

Correct but awkward: The research on this subject includes numerous references.

Natural and just as good: The research on this subject includes many references.

OTHER or REMAINS. The author who likes long words merely for the sake of their length is apt to use remaining for other, even though they don't mean the same thing. Other makes a distinction between these and those. Remaining means something was taken away and something was left behind.

Wrong: Of all the studies, most were were based on quantity; the remaining studies were concerned with quality.

Right: Of all the studies, most were were based on quantity; the other studies were concerned with quality.

(The studies mentioned first were not taken away).

OTHER or ADDITIONAL. Like remaining, additional is often used thoughtlessly as a substitute for other.

Wrong: Of 100 studies, 75 involved air pollution, and an additional 25 involved water quality.

Right: Of 100 studies, 75 involved air pollution, the other 25 involved water quality.

FEWER or LESS. Less is the word most overused. Both words are comparative adjectives, but they do not mean the same. Fewer is used with number, less is used with extent or degree.

NUMBER:

Wrong: Less books were being read.

Right: Fewer books were being read.

EXTENT:

Wrong: Fewer erosion had occurred.

Right: Less erosion had occurred.

AGAIN or TOO. These words involve confusion between time and place. Again, a word of time, commonly means once more or a repeated event. Too is used mostly where the question is one of place rather than time.

Wrong: Here again, her apartment was always a mess.

Right: Here too, her apartment was always a mess.

DURING or IN. During and in do not mean the same thing. During is continuous throughout a span of time. In is at one point in time.

He began to keep track of daily temperatures in 2006.

He recorded daily temperatures during 2006.

CONTINUAL or CONTINUOUS. If something is continual, it recurs so often that it seems to be happening all the time. Continuous means it is actually happening with break or interruption. A fine distinction, but important.

She taught English classes continuously until she retired.

You have to put a stop to this continual lateness.

I hope you see the difference. The English teacher never took a sabbatical, but kept teaching until she retired. The person who was late was not late every day, but it seemed to be happening all the time.

COMPARE or CONTRAST. These are two words that are opposite in meaning, and yet writers insist on using them inter-changeably. Compare means to find the similarity; contrast means to find the difference.

The purpose of our study is to contrast the differences between these two systems.

When we compare these effects, we find a certain similarity.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of these kinds of words. There are so many others that it would take ten times the space to list them all. Here are just a few additional ones ...

AID or HELP
AMONG or BETWEEN
ASSUME or SUPPOSE
BEFORE or PRIOR TO
CHANGE or DIFFERENCE
COMPRISE or COMPOSE or INCLUDE
CONFINE or LIMIT
CONSIDERABLE or SIZABLE
EACH or ALL
IMPLY or INFER
IMPROVED or BETTER
PERCENT or PERCENTAGE
SECURE or OBTAIN or GET
START or BEGIN
SUFFICIENT or ENOUGH

The list goes on. I've tried to highlight just a few of the more common ones in the hopes of showing that it's important to use the correct word.


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FOOTNOTES

(1) Most novice writers use the abbreviation et. al. which is incorrect. The "et" portion is a latin conjunction, not abbreviated, and requires no period.

(2) Strom-Martin, Hannah. "Novelist Jody Gehrman, the pin-up girl for smart chick-lit?" In: http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/09.07.05/gehrman-0536.html , accessed 2007.