"Sorry honey, I have to do these myself," he told her, carefully dropping his blood pressure meds across the slotted week.
"Ohhh." She sighed.
Her disappointed expression had me asking "why" on her behalf.
Apparently the vitamin D pills look identical to the blood pressure pills. It's easy to see why he didn't want any mistakes.
In a weird way, this brought to mind a time I was applying makeup. As usual I felt around my makeup bag for foundation, and then mascara. After which, I found my retractable blush brush (all with my eyes still on my reflection, tweaking my work--it takes a lot of effort these days), pulled off the lid, twisted it open and swiped it across my cheek. Only it wasn't my blush brush after all, it was my lipstick. I about died laughing. Serves me right for not paying closer attention. In my defense, though, you should know that the lipstick and brush are about the same size, housed in identical gold cases.
See the cheeks? That was me, only it was one cheek-- streaked, like a die hard fan at a football game.
(BTW, this is some random person-not me)
Yikes! Mixing up heart meds, and makeup, isn't good. Mixing up anything isn't good. This couldn't be more true than with writing. (Good golly, I actually have a point)
I'm the worst at this. Forgetting to double check, to make sure I've chosen the 'write' word . Use the wrong word, and the sentence becomes incomprehensible, or worse yet, changes meaning altogether.
For example:
The writer poured over his rewrite.
You make my heart beet.
I don't have thyme to stay for dinner.
Weak examples, but I
**I posted this without asking if anyone else has any other examples. What are your red flag words that trip you up and make you think twice?
LOL. Sorry about your lipstick to the face. I actually caught the "pouring" mix up during my last round of edits and went, "Wait, that does not mean what I think it means."
ReplyDeleteVery cute post. :) And when you finish your YA Contemporary, I would have no problem critting it.
ReplyDeleteGood post. We all make these little slips.
ReplyDeleteI actually used lipstick as blush on purpose once. Well, more as a rouge, but you get the point. It wasn't too bad. But then, I was in high school so my makeup standards were a little different.
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much for your kind words about the loss of my Bridger. You "get it"-- that much is obvious--and I appreciate your words of support more than you know. Thank you.
ReplyDeletedefinitely understandable about the lipstick and your hubby's pills!
ReplyDeleteI hate lying and laying or 'lie around' 'lay around' 'lying around' or lay vs laid. You get the idea...wish I had it posted somewhere to find it fast!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Great story! And seriously good job relating it to writing. And I'm going to go with the same thing as Donna. Lie/lay. I tend to just reword the sentence so I don't have to use the word at all. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're story is great, and you tied it into writing beautifully! I think the right and wrong word are often so close it takes knowing both words to get it right. For example, the difference between pain and ache. Pain is something that hurts and ache is a prolonged dull pain. If you mix them up, you're telling your reader something different. So there's my example of the almost "write" word.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many I don't even know where to begin. I'm constantly going back to fix the word then confusing myself so much I just say screw it and choose a totally different one. How sad?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, my Grandma, granted she's 94, but sometimes she mistakes her lip liner for her eyebrow pencil. Trust me, it's not pretty. My grandma totally rocks the red eyebrow look!
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com
Great post and so true!!! Using the wrong form of a word can distract the agent and pull them directly out of your query/storyline
ReplyDeleteCute story! I'm just starting to get the hang of effect vs. affect. That one has haunted me for years . . . .
ReplyDeleteSteph: Thanks for the sympathy! And that 'pouring' sure is a doozie, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteAlleged: Thank you!
Isis: Too true.
Caryn: ahhh, the things we do in H.S. --fun times!
Lisa Ann: You are so very, very welcome.
Barb: I swear it's like a Walgreen's Pharmacy around here, what with all the meds and make up.
Donna: Oh boy, don't even get me started. Lying and laying are beyond confusing. I always have to think about it.
Peggy: Thank you! Seems there's a bunch of us who have issues with lying and laying--we need to form a help line or something.
E.R.: Thank you, darling! Yes! Pain and ache-great example of how we may not be using the best word for the job.
Alex: This had me laughing. I've seen elderly women with red eyebrows--now I know WHY, lol! (Oh, and giving up on using a word--I'm guilty of doing the same thing!)
Lindsay: Absolutely, it doesn't take much to lose a reader--esp. a time pressed agent.
Erin: Ack! Yes, tricky little boogers!
At least it wasn't eyeliner. That stuff can be hard to get off. I agree with you about the importance of using the right word. It can, at times, be extremely important.
ReplyDelete