The Y Factor By Anya Novikov

Anya Novikov

Any reader, not to mention any writer, knows how much William Shakespeare has influenced modern lexicon. Every day we see terms such as sea change, foregone conclusion, sorry sight, and fool’s paradise. All his. In fact, any cool term that isn’t a cliché probably originated with Will.

Does this happen in everyday modern life? Indeed, made-up terms and definitions burrow into our vernacular--and dictionaries, all the time. Think of bromance, a non-sexual, non-romantic close relationship between two guys. How about buzzworthy? Something whether by internet or word of mouth raises massive interest?

Ever heard of emoji? You know, those tiny icons and images used to express emotion when words just won’t do.

So...should we use stuff like this in our writing? Will a certain phrase or lingo stick our stories story permanently in a particular year, or setting? Or will readers think us hopelessly old-fashioned if we don’t use updated stuff in our books?

Right now, I’m especially thinking about the trend, or should I say trendY way of adding Y to words to make then adjectives. I mean, we’ve always had sleepy, grumpy and gooey.

Well, and trendy itself.

But lately, Y is becoming ever-present. At a session at the RWA conference last July in Atlanta, a presenter clearly annunciated, angsty and tropey.

I had a reader like my books because they aren’t judgey.

Articles in my local Sunday paper recently discussed Pinteresty and Tumblry social media. An actress’s hair was described, not as auburn, but auburny. And an upcoming TV series heralded as flash-forwardy and flash-backy. Both.

A program I like to watch features amateur home cooks. One judge hailed a contestant’s effort as a restauranty dish.

Since I’ve made myself aware of the Y factor, I’ve heard or read twisty, moley, and spammy. Oh, let’s not forget James Bondy.

But I find myself falling into the trap. On a recent trip to Leadville, Colorado, I extolled hubby to find a “local-colory” place to eat. Texting our daughter after a particular uninspiring stretch of highway, I called Hotchkiss, Arizona “a little deserty place.” And when she responded with a picture of her baby kicking back after playtime, I described him as looking “relaxy.”

Maybe all of the above will start appearing regularly in books. Dictionaries. Blogs.

Will they appear in my books? Can’t say.

Y-et.

Dora here. LovelY, Anya. lol

What about you? 

Have you noticed any trends in writing?

What are your favorites? Least favorites?

The Circle Girls: Once Upon A Witch
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Anya Novikov lives on California’s Central Coast with her firefighter husband. They thank the Lord every day for their sweet family, good health and many travels. Although Anya writes full time, she finds she misses “high school” because, she always learned much more from her students than she taught! She’s got a Contest Page so check it out . . . and keep in touch. Connect with Anya:
anyanovikov.blogspot.com
anya.novikov@aol.com

The Circle Girls: Once Upon a Witch 
God will give you blood to drink . . . An ordinary teenager finds out what witch-hunting is all about—in her own everyday world.
When Deliverance “Delli” Willis, an ordinary, almost-sixteen-year-old, finds herself dreaming wild dreams, she’s amazed when some of the stuff appears during her classroom unit on the Salem Witch Trials: When a dream girl of 1692, who shares Deliverance’s name, finds herself entranced by a mysterious man in the woods, Delli finds a new neighbor walking through her family avocado grove.

Eager to share the handsome newcomer with her circle of friends, she doesn’t realize the danger of someone unique entering the closed loop. Fingers point, jealousies surge, lies are cast, sides taken—and people are out for blood. It’s a modern-day witch-hunt that collides with 1692 in ways Delli never dreamed.

It will take lessons from her dreamscape and a stand against bullies to tighten Delli’s faith in our omnipresent God.