How to use this Page

Appropriately enough, the self-centered word self, when combined with others, sometimes gets special treatment.

Self, as a prefix, is attached by a hyphen to other words in several parts of speech. The combination can be a noun (self-control), an adjective (self-absorbed), a verb (self-medicate), or an adverb (self-importantly). It can also refer literally to a person (self-regard) or can figuratively apply to an inanimate object (self-contained). However it is used, though, it is always, with one aberrant exception I’ll refer to below, hyphenated.

In adjectival usage, although most phrasal adjectives are hyphenated before a noun but left open after (“The well-known artist drew a big crowd,” but “That artist is well known”), compounds that include the prefix self are hyphenated in both positions: “The self-possessed girl was confident but not conceited,” and “That girl is remarkably self-possessed.”

This rule applies also to all, another prefix used in phrasal adjectives: “The all-inclusive policy was more successful”; “The policy is all-inclusive.” Ex, although not employed in phrasal adjectives, is another prefix always hyphenated to the word that follows: “That’s her ex-boyfriend.”

The exception for the prefix self I referred to above is this: Though self-conscious and self-consciously are so constructed, the antonym presents a problem: Words are often strung together into phrases with hyphens (“She had an annoying devil-may-care attitude”), but this strategy is considered inappropriate when prefixes are concerned. Un-self-consciously looks awkward.

Unfortunately, the preferred alternative, unselfconsciously, is equally repugnant. The solution? Instead of writing “His unselfconsciousness was refreshing,” write “His lack of self-consciousness was refreshing.” As an alternative to the adverbial form in, for example, “They played together unselfconsciously,” try “They played together with no self-conscious behavior.”

In all other usage, though, words in which self or its plural form appears — when self is followed by a suffix (selfish, selfless) or when it is combined with a pronoun (yourself, myself, itself, ourselves, themselves, and so on) — are not hyphenated.

Left has gotten a bad rap throughout history. Because of overwhelming majority of people are right-handed (most estimates are in the range of 85 to 90 percent), left-handedness has come to be associated with weakness — the word left itself is descended from an Old English word meaning “weak.”

Left-handedness was therefore until recently often seen as undesirable, and even well into the twentieth century, parents and teachers often forced left-handed children to use their right hand for writing, eating, and other basic activities. Even now, “a left-handed compliment” (also described as “a backhanded compliment”), refers to an ostensibly positive comment that is explicitly or implicitly an insult.

Idioms that employ left to describe an undesirable or unusual situation include “two left feet,” referring to a clumsy dancer, and “out of left field,” meaning an unexpected comment or idea. (The latter, however, is not necessarily derogatory.) We also use left to refer to something that remains behind as a result of deliberate action or accidental oversight. Another common idiom with a negative connotation, one using this sense of left, is “left a lot to be desired.”

The equivalents of left in other languages have similarly pejorative meanings. Gauche, the French word for left, also means “tactless, crude, socially inept” — in English as well as French. The opposite, droit, is the root word of maladroit, which means “incompetent, inept, unsuitable.” (English has adopted and adapted that term as adroit — literally, “to the right,” and meaning “appropriate” — as well as maladroit.)

Sinister, from the Latin word for “on the left,” came to be associated with inauspicious or unlucky events, and was borrowed by French and later English to mean “evil.” In heraldry, it refers to the right-hand side of a coat of arms (the left-hand side from the point of view of the bearer of a shield, from which the coat of arms derived), opposite the dexter, or right, side. From the Latin element dextr-, meaning “on the right,” borrowed into English as dexter, we also get the adjective dexterous, meaning “clever, skillful.”

Right itself means “good, correct,” and that’s the originally connotation when referring to the right hand — it’s the correct one to use. Among the many idioms suggesting the positive connotation are “right-hand man” and “the right stuff.” (The use of right and leftto refer to political ideology, each often capitalized when referring to adherents as a collective, came from the revolutionary era in France: The conservative party in the National Assembly called itself the Droit, the “right” party. The liberal faction, in opposition, came to be referred to as the “left.”)

How do you represent various sounds in writing? The term for vocal (and written) imitation of sounds, onomatopoeia, means “to make names.” (The word, a Latinization of a Greek word, consists of the term that is also the origin of name, nominal, and the like and the one from which poem and poet are derived.) But making names is complicated by the fact that spelling of sounds is arbitrary.

Various languages represent common sounds with uncommonly assorted words. What in English would be spelled chomp or munch is in Indonesian krauk and in Japanese musha-musha. Shh, or hush, is translated as psszt in Hungarian and cht in Spanish. Achoo! is spelled apchix in Bulgarian and achhee! in Hindi. Sometimes — for instance, because a frog in one country is a different species from one in another country and therefore may actually make a different sound — this variation is logical. But often (look up the various representations for meow around the world) the differences are perplexing.

But even within one language, a writer is challenged by the ambiguity of sounds. How, exactly, does one spell a yell? That word itself is onomatopoeic, but “Yell!” is not a yell. A cry of anger is distinct from one of fear. And an exclamation of pain could be spelled starting with an a (“Aughhh!”), an o (“Owww!”), or a y (“Yeow!”).

Some variation from what a reader may be accustomed to is reasonable: If I routinely spelled an archvillain’s triumphant evil laugh “Bwah-hah-hah!” I would be distracted but not derailed to see it treated as “Muah-ha-ha!” But “Myau” would not alert me to the presence of a cat; in English, either the spelling above or the British English preference, miaow (or mew, a variation suggesting a gentler cry) is standard.

But how do I know that? The compositional catch-22 — “How can I look something up in the dictionary if I don’t know how to spell it?” — may come into play, especially when the word starts with a vowel. But that’s step number one: Look it up. Is a donkey’s bray spelled “Hee haw”? Type the word into Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, and you’ll learn whether your guess is validated. (In this case, English is in the minority among languages, most of which begin spelling of that sound with a vowel.) Or rely on your reading — whether your sources are science journals or comic books, some standard is likely to prevail.

Neologisms or words not generally granted legitimacy in writing (fuggedaboudit, anyone?) can be a challenge, but try an online search if you’re not sure. You’ll likely get a response for more than one alternative, but apply the quality test, not the quantity test: Judge the preferred spelling not on which is most frequent, but which is used on the most authoritative (or least questionable) sites.

But in the right circumstance, go ahead and take a chance. If you desire, for example, that a character respond to another’s cattiness, a flat utterance of “Meow” may convey the first person’s cynical understatement, whereas “Reerrrrrrrrrrr!” will, despite its lack of resemblance to the standard spelling, clearly evoke an unambiguous judgment about the second character’s provocative statement or behavior.

One of the things I've been trying to work on is a character study.  I know for illustration I need to be able to recreate the same character in different positions with different expressions.  So, I've been inching my way through such a project using this character that appeared among my doodles.

Paul Tobin and the art of Curt Swan

Great model sheet of various Superman expressions by Curt Swan.

Can We Talk?

Dialogue is far more than words inside quotation marks…

by Rob Walker

What’s just as important as what your character says? What do you need concern yourself with as you craft dialogue other than just the dialogue? Let’s start with the face.

Whose face? Why the face of the speaker and the features of the other speaker as dialogue means two logues, not one. Facial expressions and features are a starting point. Squints, ticks, licking of lips – it all becomes part and parcel of how it all comes off the page like life itself or remains on the page like a dead, dehydrated piece of road kill.

In other words, now that we know so much about non-verbal communication, it is incumbent upon us writers to think of using three non-verbal “triangulations” just as we would triangulate at least three of the five senses in a scene.

In a dialogue scene eye contact is huge, facial expressions, big, sounds, sighs, rolling eyes, as well as gestures and even how a character sits, legs crossed or not, and how he stands, firm or shaky. Posture and proximity. These are all key to making dialogue action rather than feeling like inaction.
So what does science tell us about body language? Here is a pretty good list of items that I use as I write:

Non-verbal signs of Cooperation:

Standing with feet apart, head tilted high.

Direct eye-contact

Uncrossed legs and arms

Open arms and palms out

Finger to face (as opposed to hand covering face)

Suspicion/Secretiveness:

Hand covering mouth or shading eyes

Head down

Throat clearing

Need for reassurance:

Sucking on pen, pencil, glasses or other item

Clenched hands

Cuticle picking, biting nails

Hand to throat

Defensiveness:

Hands in pockets

Hands locked at back

Hand rubbing back of neck

Body twisted away

Stalling for time by cleaning glasses, pipe, rearranging, etc.

Interest:

Hand to cheek

Chin stroking

Leaning forward

Scratching head

Doubt:

Pacing

Hand over nose

Brow furrowed

Anxiety:

Nail biting

Strained voice

Rapid eye movements

Open Gestures:

Smiles

Eye contact

Affirmative head nods

Rubbing hands together

Interim phrases of agreement or acknowledgement (Eh? Uh-huh? Hmmm, oh, etc.)

Closed Gestures:

Fidgeting

Leaning back (as opposed to forward)

Hand covering mouth

Peering over top of glasses

Crossed legs, arms

Head down

In other words, it is as important to see/hear what a character says but just as important to see and hear what is going on between the spoken lines, alternating with interesting actions the character is involved in and engaged in. This keeps the dialogue interwoven with the action, and the action engaged while speakers speak. Action should not end when a character opens her mouth. Same as with thinking; we are in real life normally involved in multi-tasking as we are thinking, no? Same as when speaking. Your dialogue needs to walk; your dialogue requires legs. When the man says, “Lights, action, camera” include in that list “dialogue” but dial it UP!

My latest madness is found via google at Dirty Deeds – Advice where you can keep tabs on the work in progress – Curse of the Titanic, or google Write Aide, or check out his blogs at www.makeminemystery.com

Do leave your comments!

Rob

Display Comments

Terry Odell said, on 5/21/2010 6:50:00 AM

Good points, Rob. And there's also the sub-text of dialogue. Is the character saying something but meaning something else?

DR. NORM said, on 5/21/2010 9:05:00 AM

You nailed it, Rob. Often we get too wrapped up in "he said", "she said" dialogue and forget there is a whole world of nonverbal communication.

Kaye George said, on 5/21/2010 12:51:00 PM

I've meant to start my own lists for some time and it's time to do it. I think it's good to keep track of which gestures specific characters use, too. Great post!

Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredith said, on 5/24/2010 11:56:00 AM

As always, lots of great ideas.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Add a Comment