Grammar Quirks: W. Stone Cotter on Writers Who Are Cynical About Writing

Grammar Girl: What’s your favorite word and why?

W. Stone Cotter: For years it was "melancholy," a word which, when spoken, sounds as blue as its meaning, and also works well in sentences that feature a kind of sing-song meter. (One of my favorite books is Robert Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy," a miscellany on depression published in 1621.) But lately, I like the word "oblivion," which is highly flexible, weirdly musical, works as a concrete object or an abstraction, and sounds cool as a zero-article term, especially at the end of a sentence: "Ginger exited the entrance ramp, and met with oblivion."

GG: What’s a word you dislike (either because it’s overused or misused) and why?

WSC: Any of the adjectival filler terms like "amazing," "incredible," "wonderful," etc. They've lost their real meanings through generalized overuse, which is a shame—they were all sound, utilitarian, narrowly defined words at one time. I try to edit them out of any sentences in which they want to be, but it's tough! They're so easy to fall back on, and I still find myself using these toothless words out of pure laziness.

GG: What word will you always misspell?

WSC: I really have to think about how to spell "necessary," and most of the time I'm obliged to look it up, including just now.

GG: What word (or semblance of a word) would you like to see added to the dictionary? Why?

WSC: I wish there was a word which means "homesick for a place one has never been." There might be some long compound word in German for this idea, but nothing in English that I know of. I can't even think of a passable coinage. "Wistical"? Nah. "Whencelonging"? No. "Hankerpining"? I don't think so. 

GG: Any grammar pet peeves we should know about?

WSC: When the word "disinterested" is used as a synonym for "uninterested." "Disinterested" means "impartial," and nothing else. Grrr.

GG: To what extent does grammar play a role in character development and voice?

WSC: It's everything! Especially in dialogue. I feel that I can construct a character more convincingly if I...

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