effazin
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Joined 04-10-12, id: 3901830, Profile Updated: 07-29-19

Pet Peeves:

1. Writers who hold the next chapter hostage for reviews.

2. Writers who expect the readers to tell them what to write. It's YOUR creation, why are you asking me what should happen next? If you don't have a story to tell, why are you writing? Unless you are trying to write a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story, the author should have a plot in mind.

3. The phrase "fall pregnant". What, you tripped and accidentally landed on an erect penis, and it happened during the fertile part of your cycle? The first time I saw this phrase I shrugged and assumed that English was not the writer's native language. English idioms can be tricky for non-English speakers, and at least the intended meaning is clear. Considering how badly even native speakers can mangle the language with poor spelling, grammar, and diction, this is not a major error. However, I have since seen it used by multiple authors, repeatedly, and it has become increasingly annoying and makes me cringe. In English one gets pregnant or becomes pregnant. One does NOT "fall" pregnant. Fall implies an accidental, uncontrollable element, sometimes with an added negative connotation. Yes, pregnancy can be accidental--lots of people who get pregnant were not intending to do so--but it is not uncontrollable. It has long been known that not having penis-in-vagina sex is a guaranteed way to avoid pregnancy. If one has penetrative, heterosexual sex, one has to allow that there is a possibility (perhaps a slim one, depending on condom, or contraceptive use, but nevertheless, a possibility) of pregnancy. We speak of people falling ill--it is never planned to be sick, and it is not something that is desired. This is in contrast to pregnancy which is often planned and desired, and even when it is a unplanned, is in some circumstances seen as a positive thing--not always, I realize, as unplanned pregnancy may also be unwelcome. Falling down the stairs, or off a high point such as a balcony or cliff are always negative events with unpleasant and unwanted consequences. That does not match pregnancy. The act that results in pregnancy is often planned, or at least premeditated, and enjoyed. Pregnancy is a desired outcome at least some of the time. Falling asleep, the other condition that is commonly associated with 'fall', does not have the negative aspect, but it does have the accidental or unpredictable aspect, as people fall asleep when they need rest. Sometimes that is at a planned/expected time and place, such as shortly after lying down for a nap or for the night, but sometimes it just happens because rest is needed and the environment and activity level (or lack of it) allows for it. Pregnancy, due to its connection with penetrative het-sex, does not "just happen". Falling also has the connotation of losing control--healthwise, one's body is invaded by germs, while the normal, healthy processes of the body are derailed by the immune system's response. Falling down, means losing one's footing or balance. One is not in control of how/where one lands. Falling asleep means losing conscious control of one's mind and body for a time. Becoming pregnant does not have the associated lack of control.

4. Witnessing a will does NOT mean knowing the contents of the will. This is something used in Harry Potter stories frequently. Dumbledore is accused of knowingly violating the Potters's wills by placing Harry with the Dursleys when the wills state otherwise because he witnessed the will(s). A witness to a will, or any legal document, is only witnessing that the person signed it. They do not necessarily have any knowledge of what the document contains, other than that it is a will (or at least in the USA, they must be aware that it is a will they are witnessing the signing of. I can't verify if this is also a requirement for the UK.) The witnesses can be called on to testify that they saw the person sign the document, that the signer appeared to be mentally competent at the time, and appeared to be acting of their own free will, not from coercion. There is no expectation the witness know the content of the will.