Literary laziness

[RepresentingCaution]

English is a living language. As long as others can understand us, we do what we want!

“Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.”​

― Robert A. Heinlein

 

[BenJepheneT]

Here, we have yet another example that shows us that Paul is either an eldritch being, THUS he doesn't know how normal people behave. OR he was brought up by a herd of dominant, sigma gachi-wrestlers that eat an equivalent of 10-17.5 alpha males a day, procreate via striking a bodybuilding pose, and stay hydrated for eternity without drinking a single gulp their entire lives.

Paul, you know what is laziness? Let me explain how a normal human being behaves lazily, using myself as an example.

Let's say I am editing and notice a sentence that needs a rewrite. I should change 1-2 words to make that sentence much better. But instead of rewriting it, I wave my hand and say to myself, "Fuck it, they are going to read it anyway." I DON'T rewrite the sentence, leave it as it is, and then post the chapter. This is laziness.

Somehow, us SHF users are such procrastinators and lazy fucks that a default productive guy like Paul is seen as some esoteric Lovecraftian creature who actually washes the dishes after he eats and not a week after when the stains are so hardened it's become the new bottom of the plate.

 

[Erios909]

Adverbs are the ultimate enemy. They are often used when you could achieve tighter writing without them. They are telling instead of showing, and should only happen if they aren't creating a tautology. All those -ly words, need axed and replaced with better verbs.
But I'm lazy and keep using them.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

First pass? Yes.

Then I have a list of words that I keyword search to remove.
Then I look for duplications. NEVER use the same word twice unless I absolutely HAVE to in the same paragraph, and avoid duplicates if it is in the proceeding or subsequent paragraph as well. If a phrase is repeated, I try to do it in threes, or have it be a call back to have the phrase thrown in someone's face.

Just get the words down FIRST, then go back and fix it. It is so much easier to fix a chapter you have already written than to come up with it in the first place.

Using said a lot is my lazy poison.

Said is one of the words I search for to remove. Just. However, Honestly, Truthfully, etc etc. The problem isn't the word, but how many times I wind up using it in a chapter. In the writing process, you should have several drafts. At least one draft should be REMOVING EXCESS WORDS. Once you get teh chapter exactly how you want it, go back one more time and try to remove as many words as you can without destroying the intent of the chapter. Treat your audience like they are smart. Only tell them things once. Infer when you can and let them figure it out.

People LOVE being treated like they are smart, because they often are. And the advantage is, you can tell them something in an obscure and obtuse way, hoping they 'get it', then you can wait 5-10 chapters and then explain it much more clearly and instead of them feeling like you beat them over the head, it comes across as a 'call back'. I just make sure to frame it with one of the characters 'realizing what's going on'.

Now the reader either is 'getting it' and will go back and read it again and go, 'OH!', or, they will have already got it and feel superior to the Character who didn't. Win win, either way.

Laziness in the sense that I don't want to change it.

Thus isn't a problem. It's how Often you use it? That is the problem. Once a chapter is fine.

Adverbs are the ultimate enemy.

Nah. Everything in moderation. Adverbs, locations for burying dead hookers, the coin operated bed vibrator in a seedy hotel room. If you only use them once in a while, it's fine.

 

[lambenttyto]

Are there any words you are particular or lazy about due to personal preference or how you were taught? Do you think this is lazy of me? Is it bad for Google doc and grammarly to not believe that "thus" is a word? Yes, I know I can add words to their dictionary. I already have but it still happens.

It's not lazy and it's not wrong, and it's not bad. "Thus" is an older word. As the writer, the artist, the words you use are completely up to you. It's a stylistic choice that actually makes your writing unique. Leave it. Write the way you like writing.

 

[MansonFD7]

For me, to put it simply, laziness in writing is when you didn't edit your chapter words. Just like Salius Gebel once mentioned:

You write a draft, and you see several mistakes in your chapter wordings: Either if it's punctuations, grammar, new paragraphs, etc.

Normally, people will edit these mistakes and improving it into better. But the lazy writer will ignore it like that.