I’m currently reading The Duke and I and the author is constantly using the word “acerbic”. I had never heard of the word before now and had to google the definition. The word has shown up so much that I’m tempted to go through the book and count its appearances lol.
Have you noticed any authors having favorite words that they use page after page?
In Frankenstein Mary Shelley constantly uses the word “countenance”
I was looking for this comment. She uses it like twice every page
Yeah that seems a popular word in 1800s fiction. I wonder why it’s not used much these days…
Vibe is the zeitgeist
I used it once in a book I wrote. My beta wanted me to cut it and I refused. I think any word overused gets annoying. It’s easier to overuse uncommon words. I read a story where the author kept describing a character as “dainty.” Everything about her was dainty. Stuck out like a sore thumb.
Maybe don’t let your fish read your rough draft next time. :)
It’s embarrassing how often I had to read this to get the joke. 🫨😂Well played.
You could not countenance its removal?
Too many syllables.
That’s how you know it’s a gothic novel, countenances all around.
I also felt like wretch/wretched were overused in Frankenstein
YES! Still a masterpiece. But, oh yes!
I actually love how much wretch is used, it’s such an important word in the context of the book. Ties together the whole theme
Exactly what I thought. That, and everyone good in that book is incessantly “benevolent.”
That’s a more common word in 19th century literature though
Countenance occurs frequently in the King James Bible, so maybe that’s where she picked it up.