Tips and Thoughts on Jargon for Writers and Readers

After reading Dune, I spent a little time thinking about the use of jargon in writing--where it's necessary, where it isn't, how to handle it, how it can be used for nefarious purposes, etc.

So, in case you don't know the definition, let's start with What is Jargon? Jargon is technical terminology or high-level language compared to the expected audience of the piece. So, if I talked about Bragg diffraction to a group of physicists, that wouldn't be jargon, but if I put it into a story, it would. This could also include the use of made-up or foreign-language words in fiction, for instance, a random Romanian word in a book not targeted at Romanian speakers.

Sometimes jargon is necessary. We need it when we need a precise description of a thing, such as the cobalt bombs of On the Beach or the psychohistory of Foundation. We also need it when we are introducing unique or novel constructs in our fictional worlds, such as Dune's stillsuits and Feist's Lesser and Greater Path magicians.

It's worth noting that novel jargon can be made more accessible by making compound words like stillsuit; the definition is in the word.

Sometimes jargon is unnecessary but helps to add flavor to the story. Proper names are a good example of this, such as Epasotl in Doomsday Recon. We may also want to show off cultural artifacts or phenomena which are part of the story, such as Clanspeak in Battletech, or unique month and holiday names in the Elder Scrolls setting.

It's worth remembering that whenever jargon appears for a good reason in the story, the author needs to make a good faith effort to explain the jargon either explicitly or through context. Sometimes flavor jargon only appears once, but even then it helps if there is some context to guide the reader's understanding. For example, the fictional month names in the Elder Scrolls world are mostly veiled references to what time of year it is, with references to harvest times, etc.

All of these uses of jargon are valid and can be great boons to your worldbuilding. However, some authors like to use jargon in ways that can confuse the reader or damage immersion.

One example is extensive use of large quantities of jargon which require the reader to spend a lot of time reading and trying to remember the meaning. In The Widow's Son, there were frequent sentences in foreign languages (mostly Spanish) that were often long enough that someone unfamiliar with Spanish would have trouble understanding what was said. Some of the context clues for the meanings of those sentences were too vague or too far away or even missing.

Using jargon when perfectly reasonable English terms already exist is another bad use of jargon. Perhaps one of the silliest and most egregious examples is illustrated here:

Another bad use of jargon is to create an illusion of depth, or to force a particular theme. One poignant example of this is the naming conventions in the anime Evangelion. Throwing darts at a bible in order to name things is neither depth, nor true attention to theme.

As a writer, here are some things you can do to ensure your jargon is reasonable:

Ask yourself... 

• Is this jargon necessary?
• Is the reason behind it justified by the plot, characters, or setting?
• Is it organic and supported by context?
• How much am I asking the reader to memorize?
• Can I simplify it or make things easier to read somehow?

As a reader, you might ask yourself these questions instead:

• Is the jargon slowing me down?
• Do thematic elements of the jargon actually fit?
• What jargon do I actually need to remember, and which can I let slide by?

Jargon is a powerful tool, which can add precision, originality, and color to your writing. As a reader, you should also be open to being taught interesting, original, and useful things in your reading.

However, it can also be used to confuse or dupe the reader. Therefore, writers must be aware and respectful of the reader's time, and readers should distinguish between jargon that serves the story and jargon that confuses things, and actively avoid the latter.

Intricate Characters, Unique Worldbuilding, but so darn Depressing: Dune Review!

Before I start, I want to tell a little story. Back in the day when Borders had bookstores all over the place, I would often go to see what was on the shelves with friends. My friend Justin and I came up with a fun game to play with the later Dune sequels (the ones from after Frank Herbert died). We called it the "Dune check," and what we'd do was grab a Dune book off of a shelf, open it to a random page, and see if there was anything on that page that was written so weirdly that it was funny. I don't think we ever found a pair of pages that wasn't funny.

So, I was a bit skeptical going into Dune, and was pleasantly surprised to find that, while the writing is a bit clunky in places, it wasn't nearly as laughable as the later Brian Herbert books. As I've been leaning more into classic sci-fi, I thought it was worth giving Dune a real chance.

So Much Going On--Maybe Too Much! Children of the Lens Review!

Well, we've finally reached the end of this very fun series, and finally we get to see how the Lens works across generations. Children of the Lens is now the story of Kimball Kinnison, Clarissa, and his five kids, all of whom have seemingly inherited Lens powers, and to a greater degree than anyone seems to realize.

The Amazingly Unique Writing of the Soul Blazer Series

It's time to talk a bit about one of the most interesting and unique bits of video game writing that I've ever experienced. It lives outside the fairly standard "protagonists save the swords and sorcery fantasy world from antagonist" model that you see in a lot of games--a model that can be really good, too. See Final Fantasy 4 and 6.

No, today I'm talking about a fairly obscure little series that was produced by Enix back in the 1990s, before they merged with Squaresoft. Enix, the company most known for the Dragon Quest series, a series which fits fairly neatly in the aforementioned model 99% of the time. In the 1990s, Enix of Japan could basically print money by releasing a new Dragon Quest game, and they did something that most big game companies are terrified to do today:

More Lens Swashbuckling and Twists! Second Stage Lensmen Review

At first glance, Second Stage Lensmen seems like more of the same from Doc Smith, which isn't a bad thing: we get action, intrigue, grand strategy, disguises, and larger-than-life characters.

But it turns out that we actually get more: extended looks at the enemy and its operations; the appearance of the first female lensman; more details about space battles, from heavy cruisers down to individual dogfights; and direct mention of Eddore!

Five Editing Foci

As I finished up editing my first novel, I spent some time considering the different things I was looking for each time I went through a new draft. I came up with a list of five things to focus on during a particular editing stage, and thought this might be helpful for people who spend all their time looking for typos or feel like they're just doing the same thing over and over each time they edit.

A Modern, Pulpy Mashup: Doomsday Recon Review

After reading and reviewing Ryan Williamson's The Widow's Son, I decided to try out one of his later works. Doomsday Recon is the first book in a series of three, and has Jason Anspach also on as an author.

Compared to The Widow's Son, I found this book to be much more polished. One of the problems I had with The Widow's Son was the constant foreign-language bits, which are still present in this book, but are handled more skillfully and naturally.