Nothing makes your characters pop off the page like well chosen phrases in their dialog. Have her use specific, well chosen terms of speech and she’ll be memorable, distinguishable and imaginable. You probably already know these terms, but do you use them? Please do list others in the comments.
On the regular – As in “I have a massage on the regular.” (I wish.)
Appointment viewing – a television program running on a network vs streaming. An example is 60 Minutes.
Plongeur = busboy. Remember Bradagelina? Their staff included one. Also nannies from the Congo, Vietnam and US, 2 personal assistants, cook, maid, 2 cleaners, and 4 close protection bodyguards.
Red flag terms – Red flags were a warning of a problem or danger. In my books, museum security teams hire third party companies to monitor the dark web for red flag terms concerning planned art crime.
A word salad – Word salad is defined by Webster as “a jumble of extremely incoherent speech as sometimes observed in schizophrenia,” but lately it has been applied to rambles, and political rants. As in, “a word salad of hate” or “a word salad of misogyny.”
Sponcon = sponsored content, is a form of marketing in which brands pay creators to have their brand promoted on air or the internet. Once was subtle, like a character picking up a Pepsi. Now it’s everywhere.
Cosplay – costume play – dressing up – like Janeites, which are characters from Jane Austen’s Regency novels. Or manga or anima characters.
Whisper preaching – If you are southern, like me, I don’t need to tell you what this means.
Gendered language – I was on a Zoom recently and the women used the term “manned” over and over. Good grief! Say “staffed” instead.
Think piece – an in-depth article on a topic with analysis, background, and support for the author’s personal opinions. These are usually published in journals, but can be found in magazines or newspapers.
And this last one, I dedicate to my husband-
Ph.D. – Someone who learns more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
Stay in touch,
Lane
Lane Stone
Lane Stone is the author of the art thrillers, THE COLLECTOR and THE CANVAS, plus DEAD MEN DON’T DECORATE. WWW.LaneStoneBooks.com
Good examples, Lane! Had me smiling, too~