# Suddenly....



## Morkonan (Jun 2, 2013)

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/suddenly said:
			
		

> *
> 
> sud·den·ly*
> 
> ...



Suddenly... We hates it! We hates it forever!

There I am, reading an entertaining fantasy book recently translated into English. It was by a Russian author and was hailed as a real "breakout" piece. Suddenly... it appears. That word. That detestable, execrable, loathsome word - Suddenly.

It was _"Suddenly, I noticed...."_ or something like that. How in the heck do you "suddenly" notice something? What does that really add to the act of noticing? Is it really necessary to "suddenly" open your eyes or "suddenly" sit down? Does one open their eyes in discrete stages, unable to open them fully without describing the act as being.. of a sudden? Who in the heck "suddenly" does something? Is it accomplished by doing it unsuddenly? Who writes this stuff?

Now, I still like the book and the story is a lot of fun. I acknowledge that translations don't always work out to be as comprehensible as we would like. There's likely a perfectly logical and ordinary word that sort-of means something like "suddenly" in Russian, but isn't really _suddenly_. Hey, it was originally written in Russian, so I have to cut some slack, right? Then again, it could have been "suddenly" written or "suddenly" interpreted. That would explain a lot.

My point is: What word do you hate? What word is detestable? What word would you like to take behind the woodpile and bash to death? Oh, yes, we're all elitist wordsmiths, cherishing each prosaic syllable of the English (or other) language to its fullest. We tilt our heads ever so slightly in an upward direction and gaze down upon the unwashed masses as we proclaim _words_ to be the fullest and most faithful expression of human intellect possible within a mortal existence. But, let's be honest - Some words just suck.

What word do you hate?

PS - My apologies if I have suddenly transgressed upon a previously expounded upon topic for discussion. Suddenly I started writing something and then suddenly hit the submit button. Blame _suddenly_, not me.


----------



## Sam (Jun 2, 2013)

Were you ever reading a book and looked up when someone walked in, didn't give them much attention, and then did a double take when you realised who they were? That's suddenly noticing something. 

I don't hate any words. They're all tools to be used, and in the hands of a proper craftsman (or -woman) they are perfectly fine. To suggest one is less desirable than another borders on an elitism I find intolerable.


----------



## Lewdog (Jun 2, 2013)

I can think of a lot of good things that happen suddenly.  Some of which I can't mention in a PG format or even PG-13 for that matter.


----------



## Olly Buckle (Jun 2, 2013)

Just. Mongrel word. "I just went out". Does it mean that I barely managed to get through the door, or that I recently went out, or that going out was the only thing I did? Probably none of them, it _just_ means that the writer was _just_ lazy and _just_ filled out the sentence by _just_ putting in another word that _just_ didn't mean a thing. Unless the sentence was a just one handed down by a judge of course.


----------



## Lewdog (Jun 2, 2013)

Olly Buckle said:


> Just. Mongrel word. "I just went out". Does it mean that I barely managed to get through the door, or that I recently went out, or that going out was the only thing I did? Probably none of them, it _just_ means that the writer was _just_ lazy and _just_ filled out the sentence by _just_ putting in another word that _just_ didn't mean a thing. Unless the sentence was a just one handed down by a judge of course.




That's just not true Olly.  I can think of an instance where a guy or girl is confronted by their significant other about cheating on them while out with friends...and their answer was, "I just went out."  In this occurrence, 'just' is needed to signify that nothing else of importance happened.


----------



## Pluralized (Jun 2, 2013)

*Like*, as in, "I told her off; I was like 'girl you don't know me,' and she just like stood there." 

Either one of those uses of *like*, when I encounter them, I find objectionable. 

Suddenly never bothered me as a word, but it has always seemed like a cheap way to thrust motion into a story, particularly when introductory.


----------



## Cran (Jun 2, 2013)

It's not the word, it's how you use it ...


----------



## Robert_S (Jun 2, 2013)

Sam said:


> Were you ever reading a book and looked up when someone walked in, didn't give them much attention, and then did a double take when you realised who they were? That's suddenly noticing something.



The problem is that it's not descriptive enough. It's telling, not showing. It doesn't describe how they made the connection from lack of realization to awareness. It's a word that takes away a lot of other words and adds nothing. I think it may be okay in the case of instinctive reaction, but when it comes to thought processes, it doesn't say what goes on in the mind.

I struggle to avoid using it, which probably means I haven't thought about the reason for the suddenness.

Just my thoughts on the subject.


----------



## moderan (Jun 2, 2013)

Irregardless.


----------



## Pluralized (Jun 2, 2013)

moderan said:


> Irregardless.



That word must be pronounced with a Bahston accent.


----------



## Lewdog (Jun 2, 2013)

I can't stand watching someone give an interview and say "Uhm," a thousand times.  It feels like someone is stabbing me in the chest with a hot iron each time I hear it.


----------



## Sam (Jun 2, 2013)

Robert_S said:


> The problem is that it's not descriptive enough. It's telling, not showing. It doesn't describe how they made the connection from lack of realization to awareness. It's a word that takes away a lot of other words and adds nothing. I think it may be okay in the case of instinctive reaction, but when it comes to thought processes, it doesn't say what goes on in the mind.
> 
> I struggle to avoid using it, which probably means I haven't thought about the reason for the suddenness.
> 
> Just my thoughts on the subject.



Not everything has to be shown. In fact, the whole show/tell thing is emphasised and lauded way too much.


----------



## Staff Deployment (Jun 2, 2013)

I checked and apparently I used "suddenly" eleven times in one piece. They're all, without exception, worked into the middle of much longer and more involved sentences, rather than used as a transition (in the sense that Morkonan has waxed vitriolic about). For most of them I suspect I could have replaced them with "without warning" or "with no prior warning" or "immediately" or "shudderingly" or "faster than a speeding bullet! able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!" but I've almost certainly used all of those already.


----------



## Robert_S (Jun 2, 2013)

Pluralized said:


> That word must be pronounced with a Bahston accent.



Eerrahgahdliss.


----------



## JosephB (Jun 2, 2013)

I've used suddenly -- I'll use it again. And I see it in my favorite novels and short stories. Just another one of these things that people tend to overthink once they start writing.


----------



## Folcro (Jun 2, 2013)

Literally. 

"I was literally furious!" "I literally screamed my head off at her!" (huh?) "There was literally a LOT of stuff I had to deal with!"

Belongs in the litter box, if you ask me...


----------



## Pluralized (Jun 2, 2013)

Supposedly, when pronounced "supposively," or "supposably."


----------



## Olly Buckle (Jun 2, 2013)

Lewdog said:


> That's just not true Olly.  I can think of an instance where a guy or girl is confronted by their significant other about cheating on them while out with friends...and their answer was, "I just went out."  In this occurrence, 'just' is needed to signify that nothing else of importance happened.


Surely that comes under the last group 'going out was the only thing I did'? I don't deniy that there are _just_ uses of the word, but there are _just_ so many of them, and you can _just_ choose which you want a lot of the time. To me it is not _just_ another four letter word.


----------



## Olly Buckle (Jun 2, 2013)

Folcro said:


> Literally.
> 
> "I was literally furious!" "I literally screamed my head off at her!" (huh?) "There was literally a LOT of stuff I had to deal with!"
> 
> Belongs in the litter box, if you ask me...


This is not the word, it is the user, literally means that something actually happened, but the meaning gets lost when someone uses it in the way your middle example does; she figuratively screamed her head off. In the first example it is a way of adding emphasis, there is no difference in meaning between, I was furious, I was literally furious, or I was very, very furious, they all indicate a state which doesn't really have degrees. The extra words are added to give emphasis, a bit like a double negative.


----------



## Gargh (Jun 2, 2013)

Morkonan said:


> Suddenly... We hates it! We hates it forever!



Maybe I can change your mind...

Angry Anderson - Suddenly (1987) - YouTube


----------



## Staff Deployment (Jun 2, 2013)

Folcro said:


> Literally.
> 
> "I was literally furious!" "I literally screamed my head off at her!" (huh?) "There was literally a LOT of stuff I had to deal with!"
> 
> Belongs in the litter box, if you ask me...



I like using "literally" because when skimming over, people will think it's for emphasis, but I always mean it in its precise definition. A character will say "I literally feel like a zombie right now" and then it turns out that – twist – they are _actually a zombie in the literal sense no waaay_


----------



## Morkonan (Jun 2, 2013)

moderan said:


> Irregardless.



I lmao at this... 



Cran said:


> It's not the word, it's how you use it ...



Can  you think of an instance where the word "suddenly" was used and  rewriting that sentence/portion in order to exclude it would not improve  the read? In other words, is there a demonstration of necessity for its use? Sure, I suppose it could be used without hurting anyone. It's also acknowledged that using words appropriately and to the best advantage is a sound practice. But, I find that the word "suddenly" is sorely abused. It's often used as a hackneyed way to imply action - 



Pluralized said:


> *...*Suddenly never bothered me  as a word, but it has always seemed like a cheap way to thrust motion  into a story, particularly when introductory.



That about sums up the majority of uses for "suddenly" in most prose - It's a cheat.

I still hate it.

A nicely done and relatively unbiased article on "Suddenly" - http://literarylab.blogspot.com/2009/03/something-suddenly-came-up.html

(Though, I still hate it...)


----------



## Angelicpersona (Jun 3, 2013)

> Can you think of an instance where the word "suddenly" was used and rewriting that sentence/portion in order to exclude it would not improve the read?


That could be said about a great number of words. Sure, if it's overused it can get annoying, but imagine if we removed or replaced every word that 'could' be. What would we end up with? Not a whole lot.


----------



## FleshEater (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm particular about my word choices in narrative, but when it comes to dialogue I feel there are no rules. People generally say some stupid...

So, when characters are speaking, imagining someone using suddenly, or just, is very palable in my opinion. Just my two worthless cents though.


----------



## JosephB (Jun 3, 2013)

One of the most fantastic things about writing is that you don't have to use any word that you don't want to use.


----------



## Morkonan (Jun 3, 2013)

FleshEater said:


> I'm particular about my word choices in narrative, but when it comes to dialogue I feel there are no rules. People generally say some stupid...
> 
> So, when characters are speaking, imagining someone using suddenly, or just, is very palable in my opinion. Just my two worthless cents though.



You're absolutely right. Dialogue is dialogue - It's what people say. We frequently brutalize our own language and readily accept the crimes committed by others who are doing the same. At least, when we're talking. (There's something much deeper, much more communicative in the act of speaking in order to communicate than most written fiction can touch.)

I just can't stand the common uses that people subject the word "suddenly" to. I don't mind inventive or truly illustrative or literary uses of the word. "Suddenly grim-faced, he turned..." - That's fine. But, some other uses... not so much.

(The point is - Sometimes, we don't really pay attention to what is actually being written. It's like all the nonsensical things that writers make eyes do when describing the physical act of seeing. Eyes can't "rove around a room" without leaving one's head..)


----------



## Sam (Jun 3, 2013)

Morkonan said:


> (The point is - Sometimes, we don't really pay attention to what is actually being written. It's like all the nonsensical things that writers make eyes do when describing the physical act of seeing. Eyes can't "rove around a room" without leaving one's head..)



It's called 'personification' and it's used by almost every author I've ever read, including the masters; but perhaps they're nonsensical and don't know what they're doing.


----------



## patskywriter (Jun 3, 2013)

Morkonan said:


> … But, let's be honest - Some words just suck. …



To me, *suck* is a cheap word that should be avoided by writers (when used as above). It's bad enough when "average citizens" use it, but I can't stand it when writers don't take the time to find better words. _Arrgh!_

I once overheard a store clerk tell a coworker, "I literally died!" 
LOL


----------



## Morkonan (Jun 3, 2013)

Sam said:


> It's called 'personification' and it's used by almost every author I've  ever read, including the masters; but perhaps they're nonsensical and  don't know what they're doing.



You've heard of the Socratic method, yes?

I'm not criticizing creativity, imagery or any other literary license, much less "the Masters." Some of what makes sense to us doesn't really make sense. When it's "nonsense", translated accurately, there's probably a reason for it. What is that reason? That's why I chose to hate on "suddenly."


----------



## Sam (Jun 3, 2013)

Morkonan said:


> You've heard of the Socratic method, yes?



Of course, but it's one thing to stimulate critical thinking with questions. It's quite another to pontificate. Your original post postulates that 'suddenly' is a mongrel word and should rarely be used, if ever. What discussion is required following that kind of statement? There's none, because it's a blanket statement that permits no riposte to be made. 



> I'm not criticizing creativity, imagery or any other literary license, much less "the Masters." Some of what makes sense to us doesn't really make sense. When it's "nonsense", translated accurately, there's probably a reason for it. What is that reason? That's why I chose to hate on "suddenly."



By that token you should _hate on_ 'immediately', 'abruptly', 'swiftly', 'promptly', 'unexpectedly'_, _and a dozen or more further synonyms that take the place of 'suddenly'. While you're at it, you might as well cut out 'at once' because it sounds _so_ blasé. 'Without warning'? Nah, sounds like the name of a two-bit novel that nobody cares about. It goes as well. 'Before anyone could react'? What, that's four words! What was that Strunk said? Or was it White? "Omit needless words"? Yeah, that was it. Well, we can't have that. Good riddance! Bloody hell, what have we got left? 'All of a sudden'? Yeah, right! Like that's any better than the last one. Oh, I know! 'Suddenly'. 

Oh, crap . . .


----------



## Staff Deployment (Jun 3, 2013)

Movie agents often do not accept spec scripts that contain the word "suddenly" in the description (according to Syd Field). They use it as a guage of how well the screenwriter can make the action flow on its own.

Obviously this may not apply to novels, but it's an interesting thought.


----------



## Brock (Jun 3, 2013)

JosephB said:


> I've used suddenly -- I'll use it again. And I see it in my favorite novels and short stories. Just another one of these things that people tend to overthink once they start writing.



I just wrote an entire page on my fifteen minute break.  How?  I didn't overthink.  I wasn't thinking about not overthinking when I wrote it, but when I was done I *suddenly* realized what I'd done.  I'm going to think less often for now on.


----------

