I have a lot of pet peeves. Usually they don't bother me other than to irritate me for a second and then I get over myself.
But this week, it's different.
Why? you ask.
Well, due to my miscalculations, I have two packets of contest entries to judge. One packet consists of four historical romances of 50 pages and a synopsis, BUT the contest requires only one score. Comments are expected on the entries along with responding to two questions on the score sheets. Though these entries are long, they aren't as time consuming as contest #2.
Segueing nicely into . . .
Contest #2 sent me a packet, consisting of four paranormal romances of 25 pages and an unjudged one-page synopsis. BUT this contest's score sheet is very, very detailed requiring a huge time investment.
Though these contests are run differently, judged differently, and are totally different genres, I have seen one serious issue pop up OFTEN in both of them. Yes, this problem is becoming more and more prevalent in ALL contest entries and it is the result of the dreaded disease known as 'lazy writing'. And as a judge it isn't my job to 'fix' your boo-boos, you should find them and fix them yourself or find critique partners who will beat some sense into you.
This problem has become one of my biggest pet peeves . . . at least for this week.
What is it?
The lack of appropriate punctuation.
Yes, I know I'm comma challenged. And I have been known to make up words--boobage happens to be a favorite of mine. And I have been known to make nouns into verbs to suit my purposes.
But one thing I learned in the fourth grade-and a lesson that I will never forget--is to place a comma after the word in front of or behind a proper noun, especially when addressing someone.
For example: What did he want Billy? Sally can you come here?
This is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
It should be: What did he want, Billy? Sally, can you come here?
See that little comma? The one after the 't' in want. Yeah, that one. That comma belongs there. And the one after Sally? Yep, you got it. It should be there.
I know in this age of instant messaging, texting, and instantaneous gratification, blah, blah, blah, writers tend to forget the simple stuff that sets them apart from the masses--the ability to write well.
This is pure lazy writing, and it is as irritating as a mosquito bite.
STOP DOING IT!!
Public Service announcement is over for the day.
Later, Peeps! --By the way . . . notice the comma? Yeah, that one. The one after 'later'. You got it. It's supposed to be there.
YES YES YES!
ReplyDeleteI am seeing the exact same problems. The new one this year is semi-colons. Where the hell did that come from?
Here's another one I'm seeing often...
"Here is the book you requested." He said.
WRONG
Need a comma. Need a small "h"
And I agree it's sloppy writing and/or sloppy editing. Why? Because it isn't consistent throughout the manuscript. Sometimes there is a comma and appropriate dialog tags and sometimes not.
And in one of them, the antagonist's name changes three times. Sloppy.
And yes...I did mark those down.
I see that all the time, too. And I like boobage. I might steal it. lol
ReplyDeleteCyndi--It's amazing that when you judge a contest, how many of the 'little' things jump out at you. I think the second problem you're describing might come from Word's autocorrect format. When you put in a period, it will automatically capitalize the first word at the beginning of a sentence. The key is to get that person to stop putting a period at the end of those dialogue statements that will have a tag.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to use boobage, Edie! I like that word. It's more modern than calling it a 'bosom'.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of the word "ginormous." As in, "Compared to mine, Margaret's boobage is ginormous."
ReplyDeleteThe punctuation problem that makes ME most often see red is use of the apostrophe. For the love of Zeus's thundering butthole, can people PLEASE learn the difference between a plural and a possessive? You do not post "photo's" on "Sallys" facebook profile. AAARRRGGGGGH.
Ditto from me!! I am a punctuation freak, and it drives me nuts to see people fail to get even the basics right. If I'd wanted to be a teacher, I would have chosen that as a career.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know this is old-fashioned -- so a few copy editors have told me, though I've always won the battle -- but a word ending in "s" still needs 's to make it possessive. Jones's. Tess's. Cass's. Is the average reader really so dimwitted that she understands "Tess' phone" but "Tess's phone" sends her cowering in the closet? I don't think so.
Don't even bring up the subject of a plural possessive then, that would send them right over the edge!
ReplyDelete*snork* Too funny, Jody! And true. . . :-P
ReplyDeleteJody and Marilyn, both of you are my 'go-to' gals for the complicated stuff.
--and don't ream me for my errors on this blog, please . . . I just found two of them and I usually read it over two or three times before I post it! Eek!
An error on a blog doesn't bother me. I'm sure I make plenty myself. There's a time to police yourself, and a time to just get over it. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat Jody said. It's way better to focus your attention on stuff you're putting out professionally than on a blog or in emails. I admit, I spend too much time correcting my emails, and it annoys me when a mistake slips through, but I'm trying to get past that.
ReplyDeleteI check my emails and blogs for mistakes numerous times, and I always miss something.
ReplyDeleteBut both of you are right--it's the work that should be taken professionally that takes precidence over emails and blogs.
I'm a bit late, but I have those same peeves! I'm glad I have those who are not comma challenged to help me.
ReplyDeleteMeg--I'm in the corner of a comma where a pause should be. Sometimes I mess with the comma location depending on what I'm trying to say. :-P
ReplyDelete