blogger writing tics (whoa. meta.)
I guess since I go to school for writing and occassionally receive monetary compensation for stringing words together about some topic, I tend to analyze writing and trends within it. This sounds way more fancy-pants intellectual than it really is. If I were to go on to get a PhD, which I so fucking wouldn’t because I am so over school at this point, one of the 500 different areas I would be compelled to dissertate on is the styles of writing that bloggers employ and the little trends that I tend to notice. Other dissertation topics would be “Willie from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Why Does She Suck So Much, Especially Since She Was Probably Already Diddling Steven Spielberg?” “Eli and Paul Sunday from There Will Be Blood: WTF?” and of course, “Dissertations: Why Must They Always Have a Colon in the Title?”
Anyway, back in the Bronze Age of blogging (2003ish), I complained about a phrase that was running rampant, and that phrase was “le sigh.” It started out kind of funny and cute and suddenly it was everywhere and I got really sick of reading it. Now, I don’t ever see it. Le sigh went out of style.
Nowadays, the blogging tic that is really driving me crazy is breaking normal sentences up into a question and its answer. A rough example of this format would be, “Because blah blah? Is blah blah blah.” Or “And also? Blah blah blah.” I feel kind of bad pointing this out because practically every blog that I read and enjoy employs this tactic, but it’s just not cute anymore and it needs to stop. It’s overused, plain and simple.
See, if I were a good critic I would offer an alternative tic to glom onto while the mid-sentence question inflection died a dignified death. But I? Got nothing. ;-P
February 1st, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Great. Gonna go comb over past blog entries for Instances of Kdiddy Annoyance now.
Wait, no. Nyquil instead. And also? A hot bath.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:38 pm
NyQuil is good. Makes a dandy eggnog! I’m having beer. And trying to get a hold of my sister-in-law to see if I can convince her to do a booze delivery to my house since it’s just me and the kid and I can’t parent sober, fer christ’s sake.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I’m getting tired of seeing “OM NOM NOM” every single time someone mentions food.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:56 am
There is of course the related trend of showing emphasis by placing a period. After. Every. Word.
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:38 am
1. “_____ much?”
2. this was full of ____
3. “and by ___ i mean ____”
4. “what. scooterbird. said.”
February 4th, 2008 at 12:53 am
OMG, I read this post and comments the other day, and then I just saw this and thought of Angela’s comment:
http://omnomnomnom.com/index.php
I hope OMG is not one of your pet peeves because I use that way too much but have no real desire to quit.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Well, crap. I think that I do that too much.
Sadly it is mostly because that’s how my mind makes it sound inside my head.
Le sigh.