Bathos – Wordplay Wednesday™ 08/28/2019

Lazy, Crazy … or Crafty Writing?

Apparently, there are no real rules in writing anymore … more’s the pity as my Grandma C used to say. My belief is you need to learn the rules, to know which to ignore and which are truly necessary.

However, there are still rule-makers … your readers.

It’s in your authorship best interest to allow a few of your best and worst critics to review a manuscript prior to publishing, and catch a faux pas or two, like too much of a good thing …

BATHOS (bāʹthäs’) n. – 1) an abrupt, often ludicrous change from the lofty to the ordinary or trivial in writing or speech, unintentional anticlimax; 2) false pathos, sentimentality; 3) hackneyed quality, triteness. [WW #231]

Interesting additional dictionary note: Synonym for pathos: “… names that quality, in a real situation or in a literary or artistic work, which evokes sympathy and a sense of sorrow or pity; bathos applies to a false or overdone pathos that is absurd in its effect …”

Back to “these days” in writing, the absurd is patently common. How are we to know when it crosses the bathos / pathos line? Ask your critique readers. Truly listen to their comments and suggestions. They could be right, ya know.

Word Challenge: BATHOS. Use it as a bad example, a farce, or truly unique prose, as you slip bathos into your week of enlightened writings.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. True behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

Note: Dictionary definitions are quoted from Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

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