{"id":3030,"date":"2015-04-16T07:25:05","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T14:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/?p=3030"},"modified":"2015-04-16T07:21:02","modified_gmt":"2015-04-16T14:21:02","slug":"lets-ban-of-course-by-guest-blogger-elaine-silver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/lets-ban-of-course-by-guest-blogger-elaine-silver\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Ban \u2018Of Course\u2019 by Guest Blogger Elaine Silver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest Blogger Elaine Silver writes about why writers should reconsider using “of course.”<\/p>\n

With growing concern I am noticing sentences in my clients\u2019 books that begin with the words \u201cOf course.\u201d These sentences sound like this: \u201cOf course, I was devastated that I had to move.\u201d Or, \u201cOf course, I knew I shouldn\u2019t look but I did.\u201d Or \u201cOf course, he was overjoyed to see her again.\u201d As a developmental editor, it is my job to serve as the eyes and heart of the author\u2019s future readers and to make sure that those readers get the most bang for their reading buck.<\/p>\n

So, loudly and emphatically (and with a lot of hand gesturing) I let these authors know that each time they use the words \u201cof course\u201d they are essentially cheating the reader out of a full exploration of the experience of the book\u2019s character (this goes for fiction as well as memoir). \u201cOf course\u201d implies that the author assumes the reader understands the emotional life of the character and probably feels the same way. We can never make that assumption as writers, nor should we. One of the more delicious pleasures of reading is to experience the inner lives of others. To use \u201cof course\u201d is to diminish the uniqueness in the way we each meet the world.<\/p>\n

Let me give you an example. A client of mine is writing a memoir about her short marriage to a sociopath (it\u2019s actually a very funny book!). In one pivotal scene, she accidentally discovers a box of papers that provides all the proof she needs to confirm her suspicions that he has lied to her about pretty much everything. Her original line in the book was \u201cOf course, I should have just closed up the box and not looked, but I am not that virtuous.\u201d In our discussion about this chapter, I pointed out to her that assuming that the reader would share her point of view both diminishes her particular experience and she loses out on an opportunity to enrich the story.<\/p>\n

She could, instead be sharing her particular truth: how she was very timid even in the face of all the misery her husband had caused her.\u00a0 She still felt like it was wrong to look through his personal papers.\u00a0 She considered sacrificing her own sanity in order not violate his privacy. There is no \u201cof course\u201d about this.<\/p>\n

This is a very specific response to a specific situation by a unique individual. <\/strong>It is the author\u2019s obligation to unpack and explain these emotions with no mitigating phrase like \u201cof course.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you are writing, claim and proclaim your characters\u2019 interior experiences. They are the jewels of your writing. And whether it is actually written or just implied, of course, please ban \u2018of course!\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Elaine<\/a>Elaine Silver, Conceptual\/Developmental Editor, AKA: Book Midwife<\/p>\n

Elaine S. Silver is a writer, editor, journalist, playwright, storyteller and performer.\u00a0 She has written for The New York Times, BusinessWeek Magazine and a bevy of design and construction magazines and newsletters for worthy not-for-profit organizations.\u00a0 One of her most unusual and fun gigs was ghostwriting for the media sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Click here<\/a> to find out more about Elaine.<\/p>\n

Elaine Silver She will be on a panel of editors at Writers Forum<\/a> in Petaluma on May 21, 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Blogger Elaine Silver writes about why writers should reconsider using “of course.” With growing concern I am noticing sentences in my clients\u2019 books that begin with the words \u201cOf course.\u201d These sentences sound like this: \u201cOf course, I was devastated that I had to move.\u201d Or, \u201cOf course, I knew I shouldn\u2019t look but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[104],"tags":[679,343],"class_list":["post-3030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-bloggers","tag-elaine-silver","tag-writers-forum"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43Dj8-MS","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3030"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3045,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3030\/revisions\/3045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}