The Style Book of The Detroit News Part 8

_above_ or _over_ for _more than_ _aggregate_ for _total_ _balance_ for _remainder_ _call attention_ for _direct attention_ _claim_ for _a.s.sert_ _commence_ for _begin_ _comprise_ for _compose_ _conscious_ for _aware_ _couple_ for _two_ _cultured_ for _cultivated_ _date back to_ for _date from_ _donate_ for _give_ _fall_ for _autumn_ _from whence_ for _whence_ _indorse_ for _approve_ _inaugurate_ for _establish_, _inst.i.tute_ _individual_ for _person_ _infinite_ for _great_, _vast_ _last_ for _latest_ _less_ for _fewer_ _materially_ for _largely_ _named after_ for _named for_ _notice_ for _observe_ _onto_ for _on_ or _upon_ _partially_ for _partly_ _past two years_ for _last two years_ _practically_ for _virtually_ _party_ for _person_

DOUBLING UP HAVE'S

Mark Twain in "A Tramp Abroad" wrote: "Harris said that if the best writer in the world once got the slovenly habit of 'doubling up his have's,' he could never get rid of it; that is to say, if a man gets the habit of saying 'I should have liked to have known more about it'

instead of saying 'I should have liked to know more about it,' his disease is incurable."

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NOTES

ADVERBS

Great liberty may be exercised in placing the adverb according to the emphasis desired. In general it should be placed near the word or phrase it modifies to express the thought most clearly. One should not say, _Not only he spoke forcefully but eloquently_; nor _He was rather forceful than eloquent_, but _He was forceful rather than eloquent_.

Note particularly that when the adverb is placed within the verb, it should regularly follow the first auxiliary. For example: _This can truthfully be said_, not _This can be truthfully said_; _He will probably have set out by noon_, not _He will have probably_, etc.; _It has long been expected_, not _It has been long expected_.

If the adverb is intended to modify the whole sentence, it very properly stands first, as, _Decidedly, this is not true_; _a.s.suredly, he does not mean that_. In such sentences the adverb really modifies some verb understood, as, _I say decidedly this is not true_.

Do not use _this_, _that_ and _some_ as adverbs. Never say _this high_, _this long_, _that broad_, _that good_, _this much_, _that much_, _some better_, _some earlier_. Say _thus_ or _so_ whenever tempted to use _this_ or _that_ in such connections, and use _somewhat_ instead of _some_.

Do not say a man is _dangerously ill_; say _alarmingly_ or _critically_.

Never use _illy_; you might as well say _welly_.

After a negative use _so_ in a comparison. _This is as good as that_, but _This is not so good as that_.

Say _as far as_, _as long as_, etc.; not _so far as_, _so long as_.

Thus, _As far as I know, this is true_; _As long as I stay here, you may use my book_.

Use _previously to_, _agreeably to_, _consistently with_, etc., instead of the adjective forms, in such expressions as _Previously to my arrival, he had been informed_; _We acted agreeably to the instructions_.

Beware of _only_. Better not use it unless you are sure it is correctly placed. Observe the difference in the meaning here: I have _only_ spoken to him. I have spoken _only_ to him.

Don't use _liable_ when you mean _likely_. A man is _likely_ to park his automobile so he will be _liable_ to arrest.

Don't use _painfully cut_ and similar expressions. One is not _pleasantly cut_.

_Occasionally_ means _on occasion_. So don't write _very occasionally_, but _very seldom_ or _infrequently_.

_Farther_ is used to denote distance; _further_ in other senses, as, _I told him further that I walked farther than he_.

ADJECTIVES

Be sparing in the use of epithets and of adjectives and adverbs generally. Especially avoid the use of superlatives. Superlatives are seldom true. Rarely is a man the most remarkable man in the country in any particular; rarely is an accident the worst in the history of the city. Better understate than overstate; better err on the side of moderation than excess. William Cobbett says: "Some writers deal in expletives to a degree that tires the ear and offends the understanding.

With them everything is excessively, or immensely, or extremely, or vastly, or surprisingly, or wonderfully, or abundantly, or the like. The notion of such writers is that these words give strength to what they are saying. This is a great error. Strength must be found in the thought or it will never be found in the words. Big sounding words, without thoughts corresponding, are effort without effect."

Be sure to remember that _nee_ means born. It is of course impossible then to speak of _Mrs. Doe, nee Mary Roe_, as one is never born with a Christian name, but _Mrs. Doe, nee Roe_. And, of all things when a widow has remarried, do not write _Mrs. Richard Roe, nee Mrs. John Doe_.

Adjectives, if wisely used, give desirable color to a story. A thesaurus will brighten up a reporter's adjectival vocabulary. These are suggestions for possible subst.i.tutions of fresh words for more or less hackneyed words:

_fast_--_fleet_, _swift_ _good_--_meritorious_, _laudable_ _repentant_--_penitent_, _contrite_ _temperate_--_abstemious_ _intemperate_--_inabstinent_ _modest_--_decorous_ _distressing_--_piteous_, _pitiable_, _rueful_ _witty_--_jocose_, _nimble-witted_ _fearful_--_timid_, _apprehensive_, _tremulous_ _crafty_--_cunning_, _artful_ _frank_--_ingenuous_, _guileless_

Prefer _agreeable_ to _nice_, which means accurate; and _long_ to _lengthy_.

Words like _perfect_ and _unique_ cannot be compared. Never write, _more perfect_, _most perfect_, _most unique_.

Eschew the word _very_. It seldom strengthens a sentence.

It is better to use such words as _feline_, _bovine_, _canine_, _human_ as adjectives only.

Prefer _several_ or _many_ to _a number of_.

_Healthy_ means possessing health, as, _a healthy man_. _Healthful_ means conducive to health, as, _healthful climate_, _surroundings_, _employment_. Do not use _healthful_ in speaking of food, but _wholesome_.

_Parlous_ is archaic. Don't use the phrase _in these parlous times_. The word in good usage is _perilous_.

n.o.body has explained the difference between _actual photographs_ and _photographs_.

_Awful_ means inspiring _awe_, _fearful_ inspiring _fear_, and _terrible_ inspiring _terror_.

_Anxious_ implies _anxiety_. Say _eager_ if you mean it.

The first meaning of _hectic_ is habitual. The second meaning is _fevered_. It connotes _heat_ more particularly than _red_.

Great care is needed in using these three words: _livid_, _lurid_ and _weird_. _Livid_ means primarily black and blue. It also means a grayish blue or lead color, as flesh by contusion. It doesn't mean anything else. _Lurid_ means a pale yellow, ghastly pale, wan; figuratively it means gloomy or dismal, grimly terrible or sensational.

When used in its first sense it is properly applicable to the yellow flames seen through smoke. It does not mean fiery red. In its figurative sense it can be used to describe a series of incidents calculated to shock or to stun by the enormity of them. _Weird_ means primarily pertaining to witchcraft and is used in reference to the witches in "Macbeth." It also means unearthly, uncanny, eerie. A green light might be called _weird_. It must not be used to mean peculiar, as, _She wore a weird hat_.

YOUR AUDIENCE

Says Irvin S. Cobb: I'd rather have my work read by thousands of people throughout the country than be the author of the greatest cla.s.sic that ever mouldered on a shelf.

In my opinion, the ma.s.ses are worth our art. If we believe in a democratic form of government we should believe in a democratic att.i.tude toward the art of the short story, and I, for one, frankly admit that I write for the shop girl and business man rather than for the high-brow critic. That does not mean you must necessarily choose between them, but if I had to choose I would let the critic go.

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