Writing Mechanics: Avoiding the “I” Trap and Other Irritants

In today’s post editor Linda Clare continues our look at Fatal Flaw #12: Flawed Writing Mechanics. We’ve taken a look at scene structure, and now we’ll cover some of the smaller bits that jam up the gears of writing mechanics.

This week we’re discussing how poor writing mechanics can lead to dull writing. Let’s examine how repetitive pronoun/proper name use and other small mistakes can weaken fiction and what we can do to strengthen our work.

Get Out of the “I” Trap

In the Julia Roberts/Brad Pitt movie The Mexican, Roberts leans out a window, hurling all Pitt’s possessions on him. He protests, “But I . . . I . . . ”

She yells back. “I, I, I, I, I. It’s always about you, Jerry.” She then throws something else onto his head.

When writers overuse pronouns in their fiction, I think of this scene. Every writer faces the same challenge: how to communicate the story without boring readers by repeating pronouns at the beginning of sentences.

If you look at a scene you’ve drafted and see (or hear) nothing but I,I,I, the passage might read better if you rearrange or revise. Many people have an aversion to hearing “I” repetitively (or “he” or “she” or “it”). My solution is to draft the sentences any way they come, but later revise or rearrange at least half of them.

Before:

I pressed my knuckles against my mouth after the teacher reprimanded me. I couldn’t believe he’d dress me down in front of the whole class! I hadn’t done anything wrong, unless you count that lit firecracker on his chair. I was determined to get revenge, even if it took all semester. I smiled at the real culprits—Tommy and Jack, those evil twins. I was always getting in trouble thanks to those two apes. I’d find a way to get even.

In the Before example, every sentence begins with “I.” It does seem egocentric and, frankly, boring. Let’s see how the paragraph can be reworked.

After:

After the teacher reprimanded me, I pressed my knuckles against my mouth. He’d dressed me down in front of the whole class! I hadn’t done anything wrong, unless you count that lit firecracker on his chair. Even if it took all semester, I’d get revenge. I smiled at the real culprits—Tommy and Jack, those evil twins. Thanks to those two apes, I was always getting in trouble. Getting even became my goal. 

To avoid beginning every sentence with “I,” I rearranged a few words, putting the end phrase at the beginning. More importantly, the new arrangements put the important part of the sentence where it has the most impact—at the beginning or the end. If you allow the important part of a sentence to languish in the middle, it tends to get lost.

Emphasize the important stuff where it will have a greater impact—beginning or end—as that’s what readers tend to remember most easily. Plus, you solve the “I” problem.

No Fun with Dick & Jane

Another way names in fiction become troublesome is when characters keep naming the person they’re addressing. In real life, we hardly ever say the name of the person we’re speaking to. And unless it’s a character’s mother yelling her child’s entire name when he’s gotten into trouble, refrain from letting characters repeat proper names. Doing so in fiction results in stilted or artificial dialog.

Before:

“I say, Jane, dear. Would you mind passing the salt?”

“I’d be delighted, Richard.”

“Call me Dick.”

“I can’t do that, Richard Patrick Smith.”

“Jane, is it really necessary to call me by my given name?”

“Yes, Richard, I’m afraid it is.”

Well, then, Jane Harriet Jones, you can go jump in the lake.”

The exchange is obviously silly, but it illustrates the point. Repeating proper names distracts and irritates readers. Name your characters only in the attribution, such as “Jane said,” or a in a beat of action the first time they’re introduced. That way your dialog isn’t overburdened and you can give a complete scenic experience.

After: 

Dick leaned across the table. “I say, dear. Would you mind passing the salt?”

Jane looked up. “I’d be delighted, sir. Aren’t you Richard?” She hoped he didn’t recognize her as the upstairs maid.

“Call me Dick.”

“I can’t do that, sir.” Jane bit her lip. Would he expose her?

He peered at her. “Is it really necessary to call me by my given name?”

“Yes, I’m afraid it is. Sir.” She should have stayed upstairs.

He frowned. “Well, then, whoever you are—go jump in the lake.”

There! It! Is!

Writers who begin sentences with “there” or “it” can almost always strengthen those lines by revising. There was or there were indicates passive construction that would be better if replaced by an active verb.

Example: There was an old brick building at the end of the dirt road.  Better: An old brick building sat at the end of the dirt road. Not only do you eliminate there and was—two words that can mean many things—you also put the important words at the sentence’s beginning.

In much the same way, “it” buys a writer relatively little in terms of communicating. Plus, the word it tends to refer to the last noun written.  Example: It was the neighbor’s dog, prowling around under the window. It growled, then ran off yelping.

To remedy the unfortunate growling window, you could write: Under the window, the neighbor’s dog prowled around. It growled, then ran off yelping. 

Lay, Biddy, Lay

No discussion of writing mechanics is complete without mentioning the correct usage of the verbs lay and lie. To lie and to lay are irregular verbs that have a bunch of meanings, but writers most often confuse these two verbs when referring to putting an object or a person down. In everyday speech, the word lay has invaded incorrectly, but when you write, get it right. Here are the correct ways to use lay and lie:

The word lay is easy in present tense. I walk in and lay my keys on the table. Lay needs an object, a “what” that’s being laid. Some people keep it straight by saying, “Hens lay (eggs). People lie (down).

The word lie is trickier when you mean reclining. Have you ever told your dog to “go lay down?” If you’d said, “Go lie down,” Fido might obey better—and you’d be grammatically correct.

Right now I lie in bed, but last night I lay in bed. I had lain awake the night before. In fact all week long I was lying around with insomnia.

Writing skills begin with mechanics.  Learn how to vary the pronoun opening; handle proper names effectively; and use strong, specific words. Understand lay vs. lie. Master these and other areas of writing mechanics to help rework so-so fiction to unforgettable fiction.

Your turn:

What is your most troublesome mechanics area, and how do you deal with it in writing? Has this post helped you recognize your “I” problem? What are some ways that help you avoid repetitive or vague pronouns that cause confusion?

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