A Good Read and a Writing Tip on Swifties

A Chilling Summer Read

 

by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox
Shannon Delaney Series, Vol. 1

Shannon Delaney's writing assignment in San Diego opens new doors for her young career. She has no idea that her temporary home, the Victorian-era Blackthorne House mansion is a portal to a century-old mystery. On her first night a ghostly encounter entagles her in the spectral mission of the mansion's original owner-Eric Blackthorne, master magician. Complicating matters is Alex Blackthorne, handsome and charming descendent of the ghostly magician. Also, there's Zach Zavala, who has guy-next-door good looks and a straightforward manner. Plus, Zach's grandfather Francisco is a retired detective and a kindred spirit who appreciates Shannon's apprehension about her paranormal experiences.

Question from the e-mail:  Our reading group chose a myster by a new-to-me writer this month. The style seemed a bit old-fashioned. And someone in the group mentioned "all the Swifties."  Any idea awhat a "Swiftie" is?

Answer:  Tom Swift was a hero of a series of boys' adventures featuring scientific accomplishment. A literary character whose author chose the shortest and easiest kind of dialogue attribution --- a said, followed by an adverb.

You won't find any in the book above. According to Wikipedia, a Tom Swifty (Swiftly, or Tom Swiftie) is a phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed. The most common example is from TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC MACHINE.  "That's the spark!" Tom said, electricly.

This was a common dialogue construction back in the 20s and 30s, but is now considered by most writing teachers as "lazy writing" with or without puns.

Here are a few examples:

Examples

• "I'll have a martini," said Tom, drily (dryly).
  
• "Who left the toilet seat down?" Tom asked peevishly.
  
• "Pass me the shellfish," said Tom crabbily.
  
• "That's the last time I'll stick my arm in a lion's mouth," the lion-tamer said off-handedly.
  
• "Can I go looking for the Grail again?" Tom re-quested.
  
• "I unclogged the drain with a vacuum cleaner," said Tom succinctly.
  
• "I might as well be dead," Tom croaked.
  
• "We just struck oil!" Tom gushed.
  
• "It's freezing," Tom muttered icily.
  
• "They had to amputate them both at the ankles," said Tom defeatedly.
  
• "I wonder if this radium is radioactive?" asked Marie curiously.
  
• "The Battle of the Nile? A lot of fun!" said Lord Nelson disarmingly.
  
• "Hurry up and get to the back of the ship!" Tom said sternly.
  
• "We could have made a fortune canning pineapples," Tom groaned dolefully.
  
• "I wish I drove a Scandinavian car," Tom sobbed (Saabed).
  
• "Careful with that chainsaw," Tom said offhandedly.
  
• "I'm here," Tom said presently.
  
• "Happy Birthday," Tom said presently.
  
• "Walk this way," Tom said stridently.
  
• "I stole the gold," Tom confessed guiltily (giltily).
  
• "Bingo," Tom exclaimed winningly.
  
• "Where did all the carpet on the steps go?" asked Tom with a blank stare (stair).
  
• "I used to be a criminal pilot," he ex-plained con-descendingly.
  
• "I have no flowers," Tom said lackadaisically.
  
• "I know not which groceries to purchase," Tom said listlessly.
  
• "I decided to come back to the group," Tom rejoined.
  
• "Did you say to zip up my sleeping bag or the door?" Tom asked inattentively.
  
• "This pizza place is great!" Tom exclaimed saucily.
  
• "I dropped my toothpaste," Tom said crestfallenly.