#betabitches

[the-official-jett-baker-blog]

Practical Grammar

Although nobody will probably see this post - it's mostly for me, anyway - I'd like to shine a spotlight on this amazing blog. They helped me a lot with broadening my vocabulary, and even if you are a vocab master, a lot of the things they post are really interesting! Go check 'em out!

[betabitches]

I have a novel and then some, and I would enjoy a few betas to form long-term constructive writing relationships. :) Most of everything I have is original work with the ocasional fanfic when the mood strikes. A lot of my fanfiction is based off my own work, or little ficlets or snippets as I call them, that will go in later and I just haven't gotten there yet.

I'm a bit bogged down at the moment, but maybe someone else can help you out! Anyone want to beta anything? (Also, check out the willing to beta tag to see if anyone there feels like a match.)

[betabitches]

Cue vs Queue

Both of these words are pronounced the same, but they have very different meanings and are not interchangeable in the slightest.

Cue has one meaning:

A prompt or signal for something like an entrance or a response.

Example:

"That's my cue! I gotta go."

Queue also has one meaning:

A line of people.

THAT'S IT.

Example:

"We should go queue up if we want good seats."

One can't be switched out for the other. You can't drop the last "ue" off of "queue" to make "que" because that has no meaning at all in English.

I understand Britishisms slipping in because people from all over write fic, but really, queue kind of rips the reader from the story. It's not a term that's commonly used in the US. If you want to use queue, go for it, but I strongly recommend using something else like "wait in line."

But please, do not use queue for cue.

[betabitches]

Word Choice

This topic has been bothering me for a while.

Word choice can enhance a story, but it can also distract.

Sometimes authors use really awesome words like "verisimilitude" or "imbues." These words get across the meaning much better than other words or phrases could do.

As a word geek, I know these words, and get excited when I see them used.

As a beta, though, I have to stop and really think about the word. Would the audience understand it? Could they pick up the definition from contextual clues? Should this word be replaced with more common word? Does the word distract from the story?

I also have to keep the character in mind. Would they use this word? Would they even know this word? Does this word fit the scene?

And honestly, I'm not sure what to do in every situation. A lot of the authors I beta for use amazing words, and a lot of the time I ask them what they think they should do. If the story was just for me, I'd leave every larger word I see. Because it's not just for me, though, I really have to guess about the general knowledge of the reader. And that's hard.

I guess this lesson to take from this is that sometimes betaing isn't black or white. Sometimes you have to talk it out with the author. And sometimes you have to change really awesome words.

I would also like to pose this question to you: Would you like an author leave in larger words, and just assumes the audience understands/can figure it out, or would you rather have the author (and I hate this phrase, but I can't think of a better one) "dumb it down?"

[betabitches]

Less Vs Fewer.

Both are the opposite of more, but they are NOT interchangeable.

Less is used when something can't be counted; things like ideas or something that you measure. 

Less anger Less water Less flour 

Fewer is used when you can count what is being removed.

Fewer apples on the tree Fewer people on that ship Fewer grammatical mistakes

[betabitches]

Then vs. Than

Because one letter really does make a world of difference.

Then is used for many things, but than is only used for comparisons.

Examples:

Bill is taller than Fred. I’d rather have cake than a cookie.

First I write, then I edit. Eat your dinner then you can have cake. 

Easiest way to remember: than is used for comparisons.

[betabitches]

Should of vs. Should've

I get how it started. Someone heard "of" when someone else said "should've."  This is how we ended up with some people writing "could of," and not the grammatically correct "could've." 

But it still makes no sense. 

The word "of" is used:

-in directions "west of the river"  -to show origin, or a part of a whole: "A piece of cake"  -to show a reason "die of thirst"  -to indicate identity "scam of a marriage" 

None of those can reasonably be replaces with apostrophe ve ('ve). The contraction means "have" used in the past tense.

"Should have seen that movie yesterday."

Becomes

"Should've seen that movie yesterday."

If you are thinking of using "of," first make sure you can't replace it with "have."

Thank you to our kind anon for suggesting this. If you have anything you want to see here, please, send us a message!

[betabitches]

I occasionally see 'could of', 'would of' etc. in fanfics, which makes me cringe. Could you write up a post about it? This blog is amazing, by the way. It's great to see people giving advice about the technical side of writing without getting all elitist about it!

I'm glad so many of you enjoy it. And everyone makes mistakes with their writing! So why be silly and condescending when we can have fun and give good tips? 

That is an important issue to address! Thanks for pointing it out. I will get on that tomorrow!