| Use
of the word "like" for comparison from Fowler's Modern English Usage, Second edition. It will be best to dispose first of what is, if it is a misuse at all, the most flagrant and easily recognizable misuse of "like." A sentence from Darwin quoted in the OED contains it in a short and unmistakable form: "Unfortunately few have observed like you have done." Most people use this construction daily in conversation. It is the established way of putting the thing among all who have not been taught to avoid it; the substitution of "as" for "like" in their sentences would seem to them artificial. But in good writing this particular "like" is rare, and even those writers with whom sound English is a matter of care and study rather than of right instinct, and to whom "like" was once the natural word, usually weed it out... The reader who has no instinctive objection to the construction can now decide for himself whether he will consent to use it in talk, in print, in both, or in neither. He knows that he will be able to defend himself if he is condemned for it, but also that, until he has done so, he will be condemned." |
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Comic book words
In general, stick
to simple words like "said" in dialogue, and remember that
much of the time such words aren't needed at all. |
Instead of: Bad: "Jesus Christ!" Frank gasped, straightening his tie. "It's ten times larger than I imagined." Better: "Jesus Christ," Frank said, straightening his tie. "It's ten times..." Best: "Jesus Christ. It's ten times larger than I imagined." Frank straightened his tie. Get rid of syntactical connectives like "said" whenever you can replace them with either NOTHING or an action phrase ("Frank straightened his tie"). All they do is slow down the story. The storyteller's job is to get out of the way of his story. Aristotle said of Homer, "his greatness was that he himself was nowhere to be found in his story. His characters were everywhere." Get rid of those !s and ... --both signs of insecure, amateur writing. Here's another sign of insecurity: You've shown action through dialogue, but have to add a commentary that strips away the dialogue's impact: "Jesus Christ. It's ten times larger than I imagined." Frank straightened his tie. He was surprised. That last sentence shows you aren't confident in your story, and have to make sure the reader "got it." So, in addition to revealing your lack of self-confidence, it's patronizing to your reader and will, eventually, turn him away from your story entirely. |