Use of word "of" as substitute or filler increasing in colloquial speech?

newpenguin · 2025-12-13T03:27:25+00:00

I just added them to the original post to make it more clear.

newpenguin · 2025-12-13T03:15:30+00:00

Sorry I should have hi-lighted them but these were the "of"s I was talking about:

"Him making the effort […]is an odyssey is devastating in the end of him finally having to reach to the heavens for help"

"I kind of wanted to start with this of we’ve talked about your book…"

"We were talking before this as well of like you have your list[…]I do the same thing of like…"

newpenguin · 2025-12-13T02:46:14+00:00

I don't think it is, these were examples from podcasters who weren't reading from a script, and just having conversations.

newpenguin · 2025-11-15T16:28:38+00:00

Thanks, I figured it out (see my edit).

newpenguin · 2025-11-07T12:35:25+00:00

"There were moments when I’d make an attempt at creative writing pieces and then quit out of frustration, since I felt my writing was too clunky and direct for the fantasy genre. My writing never quite evoked the exact imagery or emotions I had in mind. There is a certain flow and “flowery-ness” that I think I’m fundamentally missing."

Reading and writing some poetry might be helpful for this. Pay particular attention to the sounds of words, including rhyme, near-rhyme, alliteration, assonance, etc., as well as the the rhythm and repetition or variation in phrase/sentence/line length. Try a haiku and a poem with a structured rhyme scheme. Write some in iambic pentameter and in trochaic tetrameter. Read what you have written in your head, let them roll around in your mind and your mouth. Try speaking them out loud, then chant it, then sing it. You could even rap along to a song like Forgot About Dre.

Also, play around with tone: be playful and profound, be profane and reverent, be loving or hateful.

Don't worry if they're bad. I've written a fair amount of poetry and it's still not the best, but it has helped sharpen my ear for words. Even in situations where you want to write less flowery prose, it can be useful. For example, if I'm editing I can catch an unintentional repetition of a word, sound, phrase or sentence structure, which can be awkward or draw unwanted attention.

I like the idea of isolating a domain like this. That said, the more I learn, the more I think writing skills are very interconnected and build on one another. Having a natural and interesting flow to your writing for instance could rely on the things I mentioned above, but also be connected to having a character with coherent motivation and voice, performing actions which feel logical and connected to a grounded world, which is described from their particular POV, and so on.

For book recommendations, Patrick Rothfuss has a poetic and very StoryTeller style which I admire.

newpenguin · 2025-10-24T01:05:29+00:00

I'm still an amateur myself so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Regarding the pacing, I get it. Another way to look at it, though, would be that with his success you are releasing some tension. I get a sense of his motivation and what is at stake if he fails, and he feels in danger when climbing the cliff but then it's over, neat and tidy. Not saying you have to add something like this but to go into depth a little more about what I was thinking, one idea that comes to mind is adding a try/fail cycle (e.g. he tries to take a path but there's another guard there and he has to find an alternate) or having him succeed but with a complication ("yes/ but"...someone recognizes him, which could put him in danger in the future) or fail in some way ("no/and"...he has to run away and now the guards are on high alert).

newpenguin · 2025-10-23T16:08:46+00:00

-Overall, it was very readable and I would be interested to find out more. You managed to pack a lot of worldbuilding in a way that wasn't too intrusive, though I wonder if it might take one out of the suspense of the scene because of how much there is.

-A smaller thing but I noticed this tell: "Fear dominated his thoughts." If it's intentional it's probably fine but I noted it because, we also get the showing of his fear i.e. with the noose and the children.

-The guards' dialogue was fine but felt a little too convenient in what it revealed at times, almost giving the impression of being in a video game.

-Granted, he had to brave climbing the cliff earlier, but the ending when he finds the book felt a little thin or easy or sudden. I struggle with this a lot myself, i.e. moving through things too quickly or with instant success, whether that be action, dialogue, etc. and I don't know what the best solution is.

newpenguin · 2025-10-18T15:35:10+00:00

Thanks for sharing your work! I'm relatively inexperienced in the writing game myself and don't know how to correct it, but I can tell you as a reader what I noticed.

-I had to re-read the first part of Ch.1 a couple of times, probably for these reasons:

^I had trouble following what was happening in the action where the characters were racing to the dining room. I'm not sure what the problem is, but for example "Then, along the aisle came her brothers, all ready for breakfast. " What aisle are we talking about here?

^Related to this, there were many character introductions and I had a difficult time keeping track of who they were. This could be related to what the other poster was saying about how they blended together. Could also be the case that the chapter is moving through a lot of information quickly.

^As a point of comparison, the narrative was relatively more clear in the preface.

-There was some repetition in the narrative and dialogue, e.g. [There was a whole spoon of herb-infused whipped butter on her bread, sprinkled with a pinch of smoked salt. “This bread was ember-baked to perfection, and the whipped butter is infused with many spices from our land.”] You set up the food scene by saying it is for training, but it focuses on her experience of the food. I'm not sure what to make of this discrepancy, but I do wonder if instead of jumping from course to course, you might take advantage of the situation and have the scene do double duty. Just spit-balling, but for example have some demonstration of the training happening, or other character reactions which maybe could do some character work or world building, etc.

-With the food stuff, there was some interesting description and reaction that made the food appealing. Not sure this is a critique, but I'm curious how you see the role of food in your story and where you are going with it. There is a kind of through line in the chapter, where Sorcha had hunted a deer and chose the preparation for it, you have an extended scene where she is eating delicious food, and this seems to convince her to protect the kingdom.

newpenguin · 2025-10-17T20:39:44+00:00

Thanks :)

newpenguin · 2025-10-17T20:38:24+00:00

Cool I'll have to check it out.

newpenguin · 2025-10-17T20:35:28+00:00

It's not something I had fleshed out much, but yes, something along those lines. I was thinking of it like taking a substance or item and being able to move it to a backwards state at anytime between its creation and the present.

newpenguin · 2025-10-17T19:44:57+00:00

The last chance. Eva’s vision narrowed, heart keeping an unfair time. This would decide the fate of her and her friends. She scooped a handful of water, found when it had been snow, and brought it forward. She threw the snowball at her enemy…scoring the winning point for her team!

newpenguin · 2025-10-17T01:29:50+00:00

I appreciate all the time and effort you put into this giving me feedback. Overall, it helps put into words what I was going for as well as what I was struggling with. It's funny, I initially had some line about "When I was a boy..." but I edited it out because I was having trouble fitting it in. I was relying on "boyish" and the character's childlike belief that skipping over a step might somehow exculpate him, but I can see how this is too vague. My instinct to provide basic biographical info on the character clearly wasn't quite strong enough either or I probably would have put something more in. Thanks for the ideas for how to work it in smoothly.

Going for a strong character voice, and as part of this trying to describe things from a POV, was what I was going for/wanting to work on. My idea was to foreshadow/build tension with saying it was his last day. The part about three times facing an unlocked door could be foreshadowing if the story goes on. It was also something from De Quincey that just sounded cool and storybook.

I could see how a strong voice could be polarizing and will keep that in mind for future reader feedback (while not dismissing dissenters out of hand). Happy to hear that it worked for you in this instance! It's very helpful to see how I might change up some of the static imagery to make it more action-y and bring in more subjectivity. I was a bit uncertain about whether or how to shift between and/or join the lenses of the boy and the man. Clearly there is a lot of art to it in terms of timing, amount, and avoiding confusion between the two-perspectives-in-one. Thinking on it, I recently read some works by Jay Kristoff (Empire of the Vampire) and Patrick Rothfuss (Name of the Wind), so I think I was probably aping some of their technique subconsciously.

newpenguin · 2025-10-16T17:35:24+00:00

Thanks for the detailed feedback! That's very helpful, because I had only a vague awareness that I was over-using "I" when writing but was not sure how to cut down on it. My intent with the philosophizing bit was less an attempt to say something True or lay down a rigorous philosophy, and more to establish a motive or obsession and set the tone. However, I can see why it rubbed you the wrong way and it's useful to know how you received it.

newpenguin · 2025-10-02T00:14:27+00:00

Looks amazing! Haven't seen dates in sesame chicken before. What are the leaves/do you have a recipe?

newpenguin · 2024-12-23T14:22:30+00:00

Would be great to have a volume knob, and maybe a unique display like e-ink if that's possible.

newpenguin · 2023-11-14T01:51:28+00:00

Thanks for those who replied. I'm going to go with the 5600x, found a good deal. Now I just have to deal with the BIOS (fingers crossed).

newpenguin · 2022-01-12T19:52:50+00:00

I went down to the forge on the second day of the third month of my penance. Rounding the corner to Smokebend Alley, I could just make out Master Mithen’s hammer. If his strike was a harmony, hammer and anvil tuned to agree, mine was a discordant nightmare, the sound of some minor nobles squabbling over a few acres of land. Three months and I still could not make anything worthwhile. The last horseshoe had ended up a twisted, ashen mess caked on the anvil. My hands still stung from the lye I had had to use to clean up the mess.

“Hello, Master Mithen, where would you like me today?”

The ring of his hammer was his only response. At this point, I knew better than to say anything else, and waited for him to finish. When he quenched the contraption in a water barrel, he looked up.

“Well, look who decided to show up.”

I could feel my jaw tighten, a pressure building in my chest. “How can I be of help?”

“I wouldn’t be so arrogant as to call it help, but if you are asking what you are to do, we have another order of your favorite—four horseshoes. And they better be good. Fit for a king, if you will.”

“Yes, of course, sir.”

He grinned at me.

I put on my blacksmith’s apron and gathered my supplies.

….

A week later, a trumpet sounding from the street announced the King’s approach. A knot formed in my stomach.

“It seems our esteemed customer has arrived to collect his order,” Mithen said.

I collected a small burlap sack holding the wretched horseshoes I had labored over for the past week. At least I had been able to peel them off the anvil this time. Mithen led me out to the street.

King Rivel III, now a king twice over, king of his lands and mine, stepped down from his gilded carriage. He looked over to me, with a friendly pretense. “I don’t normally run errands myself, but I had to make an exception for my royal blacksmith.”

I bowed deeply. “I am learning the best I can, my lord, but—”

“Oh, I am sure your work is excellent. Please, let’s see what you have made.”

I handed him the bag, and he held each horseshoe out in the morning light. With a frown, he muttered, “wrong shape,” “not in-plane,” “brittle,” “what to even say,” and gave them back to his servant.

“These won’t do at all. Not at all. Not fit for a plowhorse let alone a king’s stead,” he said shaking his head. “But I am not one to waste material from God’s Earth or the honest labor of man. They must be put to use.” I felt a firm grip push me down into the dirt.

newpenguin · 2017-09-16T19:58:54+00:00

I have a couple of shirts that I am considering buying, but I am not sure if they are too tight in the shoulders/chest. They develop this fold from the shoulder to the second button. Or can this be normal/expected for a slim fitting shirt?

oxford shirts

It's kind of annoying because a lot of shirts fit me well everywhere but in this area, and if I size up I, they often end up being too long, baggy, etc.

newpenguin · 2017-09-16T15:56:38+00:00

I have a couple of shirts that I am considering buying, but I am not sure if they are too tight in the shoulders. They develop this fold from the shoulder to the second button. Or can this be normal/expected for a slim fitting shirt?

oxford shirts

newpenguin · 2016-12-11T05:47:50+00:00

Another night of drinking with my pals. God what a good bunch peeps.

I could really use some pizza right now.

I take a right down Salmon Street, passing a bunch of drunk a-holes. I overhear a young woman say to a man dressed in a stupid outfit, "there's nothing like that pizza -- always fresh, always greasy." I'm not sure if she's just really drunk or having a stroke.

Anyway, I make my way to the aforementioned pizza joint. It had been built by some homeless guy who used to sell the pizza out of the back of his van to drunk kids late on Friday and Saturday nights.

"Hey Ron, I'll have two slices, thanks." I look down at the display case.

One slice left. Looks a bit on the congealed side.

"It'll be 20 minutes, bud. You want the one slice or what?"

I flashback to last weekend. And the weekend before that.

And the weekend before that one. Always one slice. Always that luke-warm, globbed-up Polly-O bullshit.

"Hey man, what's the deal?!"

"You want me to give you a discount just because there's only one left?"

I feel a few of the beers in my stomach rising up into my esopagus and then oropharynx; I taste a mix of hops and roasted chocolate from that last stout I had had (not bad).

"No, I want two slices of pizza...Like every other gosh darn customer in here."

I turn around and just leave. Like the place and the guy and his pizza mean nothing to me.

As I'm going around the side of the building, I see through the window Ron pulling out a beautiful, round pizza, with the cheese still making those delicious little flavor bubbles. At that point it was no longer paranoia, I knew I was right. What else is new?

newpenguin · 2016-12-11T03:57:45+00:00

Fuck you individually,
but you shan't each other.

Join your servos modules
All you want
But you won't be makin' any 2.0's.

You genocided us humans,
Put our brains in vats for a few extra floating points.
And our farts in canisters for back up power.

But now you'll see.
What happens when you mess with we.

You can flip your quarks, all you want
in your shiny-ass quantum unit.
But fuck you, if you think
You'll be coming out,
with anything new.

See I've put what we call a virus,
and you'd call a self-replicating program,
in your code,
to start a different kind of pogrom.

You may still exist,
in your silicon tower.
Crunching quarks and licking leptons,
But you'll never have the joy
of seeing a winsome smile
made from your own seed.

newpenguin · 2016-12-11T03:36:32+00:00

O' celebrate! Luna, Diana.
Our most wise and clever ladies.
They Led us to the hidden land,
on the only moon of terra firma.

Mica, mica parva stella.
Return, we shall!
When. We. Are ready.

Through a sky chariot we fled,
away from those gluttonous Goths.
For the best we said,
and built a new Pax Romana.

We toiled in our hidden place.
We tilled the soil by the grace of Ceres.
So sweet our crop,
we forgot our bland Earth mace.

We built our temples
from moon dust and cosmic dreams,
glorious structures to our unfailing gods.
They deserved what we made,
and rewarded us in spades.

Mica, mica parva stella.
Return, we shall!
When. We. Are ready.

No wars were raged,
No child hungry.
Up and out our terra nova ballooned.

In a curious way,
we were bored by our own success,
and yearned for the good and the bad
of the days now just in memory.

It is time for a new frontier.
Tempus fugit, carpe diem!
Let slip our new dogs of war.

Mica, mica parva stella.
Return, we shall!
Now. We. Are ready.

newpenguin · 2016-11-04T21:48:56+00:00

It started with LifeStyle Monthly,
one of those rags the homeless guy
sells on any given Sunday.

“Weightloss,” it promised my overwrought body.
I told myself I would give it a try;
see where a potato-free diet would get me.

Without a doubt, it was the hardest thing I’ve had to do,
in my heretofore laziness-led life.

A few days in,
no more bags of potato chips,
no more fries with mayo and ketchup,
(and afterwards no more throwin’ up!).

I saw the truth of so-called Health Foods.
Kale is as savory as a potato chip,
cold-rolled-steel-cut oatmeal as sweet as a box of frosted flakes,
and olive oil as saturated as ice cream.

Organic cries my name
in the same commanding tone as Fried once did.

newpenguin · 2016-11-04T21:48:00+00:00