Verbal annoyances

[easol.livejournal.com]

Y'know, people often talk about LKH's unbelievable metaphors ("evil chocolate in your ice cream" or whatever the hell that was), her smells, her silly "gawth" names, or her tendency to describe in detail what every character is wearing. But I find that there are a lot of verbal tics that bother me just as much.

Edit -- Similes: It feels like LKH cannot go through a paragraph without at least one terrible and/or vague simile, even when a simile is not needed. "... the fire burned us both like a force of nature"? Yeah, way to kill the drama.

Shading: Note to LKH -- I do not care how many shades lighter X's eyes are than Y's, or how many shades darker their shirt is. What are you using, paint chips?

"... Across My Skin": Words cannot express how sick I am of this phrase.

"White Bread": I hate this with a passion. What the hell is wrong with just saying "Hispanic" or "black"?

Rude conversations: If you are going to have people talking about the heroine like she isn't even there, then write books in the third person. It's just annoying to have people dissecting Whorenita's emotions while she sits there and drools.

Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Does anyone else have 'em?

Comments

[sharkbytes.livejournal.com]

"spill" for sure...I had a running tally of the amount of times she used it in Danse Macabre, I should see if I can dig up that paper.

Also, it isn't incorrect, but it annoys me how she's always saying, "put up the gun," when referring to no longer aiming at someone and holstering her weapon.

Hmm, what else? There was that description of Richard's balls that put me off of dairy for a month at least.

The expression "just flat did/does it for me" is overused to the point of ridiculousness. As in, 'being tied down just flat does it for me.'

And finally, "pretty to think so" is an expression she's used when Anita is supposed to be removing another character's rose-colored glasses, as it were. It's used so frequently, and although it may be a proper expression, it always catches my eye and makes me think that there's many other ways she could have chosen to convey that sentiment that would have been better.

[daphne-gateau.livejournal.com]

Good call. I remember 'pretty to think so' as first being said by JC (maybe Asher?) to Anita and it was good. It fit his style and addressed her naivte. Since then LKH has wore out the welcome of this phrase and when it's written for Anita it's doesn't suit the way she speaks or thinks at all. I'm sick of this phrase too.