The Writer's Lexicon is Updated

I’m actively compiling this list to benefit writers of varying levels of immersion in the waters of authordom, to help us look less stupid or simply to help you navigate the world of writing a little more confidently. I am taking suggestions to add to this list, it's not complete by any stretch.  I am particularly interested in ‘writer-culture’ words. Or, perhaps you disagree with my definition. I’d like to hear about that as well.

Plot Devices and Literary Words

Alien Space Bats - The term was originally used as a sarcastic attack on poorly written alternate histories due to lack of plausibility to create improbably plot divergences. Also refers to the use of Deus ex Machina in the form of Ancient Aliens.

Backronym - Same as an acronym but the word came first and the meaning behind the letters followed after.

Big Dumb Object (BDO) - The science fiction term refers to any mysterious object (usually of extraterrestrial or unknown origin and immense power) in a story which generates an intense sense of wonder just by being there. For example the Monoliths in 2001 A Space Odyssey, or The Void Ship in Doctor Who.

Brenda Starr dialogue - Long sections of talk with no physical background or description of the characters. Such dialogue, detached from the story’s setting, tends to echo hollowly, as if suspended in mid-air. Named for the American comic-strip in which dialogue balloons were often seen emerging from the Manhattan skyline.

“Burly Detective” Syndrome - This useful term is taken from SF’s cousin-genre, the detective-pulp. The hack writers of the Mike Shayne series showed an odd reluctance to use Shayne’s proper name, preferring such euphemisms as “the burly detective” or “the red-headed sleuth.” This syndrome arises from a wrong-headed conviction that the same word should not be used twice in close succession. This is only true of particularly strong and visible words, such as “vertiginous.” Better to re-use a simple tag or phrase than to contrive cumbersome methods of avoiding it.

Pathetic Fallacy

I learned a new literary term this week. At first I thought my mentor was snarking at my poor use of description, but I looked it up and it's actually a real thing. I've seen it hundreds of times, but like so many other things I had no idea there was an actual title for it.

Pathetic Fallacy - A literary term for the attributing of human emotion and conduct to all aspects within nature. It is a kind of personification that is found in poetic writing when, for example, clouds seem sullen, when leaves dance, when dogs laugh, or when rocks seem indifferent.

I'm adding it to the lexicon. I am still hoping that I get more of these to add. If you know of any that aren't in my Writer's Lexicon please share.

I also get Jane Friedman's blog notes in my email and a few days ago she talked about a visit to Italy for a convention. Nice, huh? Maybe someday I'll be able to justify that, but I digress. Anyway she talked about hearing Bella Andre talk and one of the points really hit home and I think it's especially valid for new writers. There is no wasted work. Anything you do that relates to your writing goes in the experience bag to be used later. Words that never see the light of day are still valid, because they move the bar toward those magical million words that free your writing spirit animal or something. For real though, they do count.

I hear a lot from other writers that are still unpublished that they feel like they are wasting their time. No such thing. Every word is one step closer to figuring it all out, improving your voice and getting that much closer to getting a contract. So keep at it.

On another note, I am closing in on finishing Quintessence. Like ready to send out to agents. I'm excited to finally have something I feel confident enough about to get to this next phase in my career. I'll post if I have any news on that front.

Clear Ether!

Pimping a book: Lexicon by Max Barry

UK / Aus / NZ / SA

I just finished the audiobook version of Lexicon by Max Barry. It made my drive to Pennsylvania for the next residency in my MFA program a riveting adventure instead of drudgery.

I've been a Max Barry fan since he was Maxx Barry. I loved Jennifer Government, and I've made it a point to read every book he's written. Max's infectious, dark humor has always been a hallmark of his work, but the tone of Lexicon surprised me. It feels like an older, more mature brother of his other works. It's a blisteringly brilliant book. I was a fan before this novel came out but this new book puts Max into a different tier.

Be careful...reading Lexicon will compromise you, turning you into one of his proselytes for this heart-stopping thriller. It's a profoundly intelligent tale that covers a global conspiracy to use words as keys to unlock the human mind. 

The novel follows a young street hustler drafted into a secret organization, made into a weapon by careless inattention, and a seemingly innocent bystander, the only survivor of a horrific disaster. Usually his barb filled prose are more than enough for me but he goes for a different approach in this book. The normal tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek style is set aside for a more serious tone, elevating Max Barry into the upper echelons of science fiction writers. He has obviously done a lot of historical research to ratchet this story up several notches and combined with the philosophical undertones, it really messed with my head.  Barry jumps back and forth through the timestream, which serves to maintain a blistering pace and keeps you guessing who is one whose side and what's going to happen next.