DPR IAN | OUT WEST PM

inculcate

To persistently impress a habit upon or belief into another person. You inculcate an idea, not a person:

“My father inculcated me with a belief in democracy”

should be “My father inculcated in me a belief in democracy.”

inveigh, inveigle

Inveigh - to speak strongly against: (“She inveighed against the rise in taxes”)

Inveigle - to entice or cajole: (“They inveigled an invitation to the party”)

irony, sarcasm

Irony - the use of words to convey a contradiction between the literal and intended meanings.

Sarcasm - very like irony except that it is more stinging.

Whereas the primary intent behind irony is to amuse,

with sarcasm, it is to wound or score points.

kudos

”He did not feel he had received the kudos that were his due” (Washington Post).

Kudos - a Greek word meaning fame or glory, is singular.

Thus it should be “the kudos that was his due.”

There is no such thing, incidentally, as one kudo.

languid, limpid

Limpid - clear, calm, untroubled (“a limpid stream”).

It has nothing to do with being limp or listless—meanings that are covered by languid.

laudable, laudatory

Laudable - deserving praise

Laudatory - expressing praise

lawful, legal

In many contexts they can be used interchangeably.

Lawful - permissible under the law (“lawful behavior,” “lawful protest”).

Legal - has that meaning plus the additional sense of “relating to the law,” as in “legal system” and “legal profession.”

lay, lie

”Laying on his back, Dalton used a long exposure of two seconds so as to achieve maximum depth of field” (Photography magazine).

Unless Dalton was producing eggs, he was lying on his back.

Lay and lie, in all their manifestations, are a constant source of errors. There are no simple rules for dealing with them.

You must either commit their various forms to memory or avoid them altogether. The forms are:

LAY ⚜ LIE

Present: I lay the book on the table. ⚜ I lie down; I am lying down.

Past: Yesterday I laid the book on the table. ⚜ Last night I lay down to sleep.

Present Perfect: I have already laid the book on the table. ⚜ I have lain in bed all day.

The most common error is to say, “If you’re not feeling well, go upstairs and lay down.” It should be “lie down.”

lighted, lit

Either is correct.

Lighted, however, is more usual when the word is being used as an adjective (“a lighted torch”).

loath, loathe

Loath - an adjective meaning reluctant,

Loathe - a verb meaning to despise.

luxuriant, luxurious

Not interchangeable, but their meanings sometimes overlap.

Luxuriant - indicates profusion (“luxuriant hair”).

Luxurious - sumptuous and expensive (“a luxurious house”).

A luxuriant carpet is a shaggy one;

a luxurious carpet is an expensive one.

WORLDBUILDING RULE NUMBER TWO: IF THERE ARE POTATOES IN YOUR WORLD THERE MUST BE AN ANDES FROM WHERE THEY CAME FROM

WORLDBUILDING RULE NUMBER THREE: PUT. A. FUCKING. EQUATOR. IN. YOUR. WORLD. MAP.

If you're designing a continent-sized scenario, you should KNOW how large it is and how it stretches over a world map, you don't need to do the exact coordinates, even if it's just in a loose way like "it stretches from the equator to the southern temperate zone". To do this, you NEED to put the equator on your world map, or in any case, you should know where it is compared to your main setting. This will help you create a realistic distribution of climates which will serve as a spine for the rest of your worldbuilding, as you can tell where different uses of resources, crops, flora, fauna, cultures, everything is.

Otherwise you get someone like GRRM claiming to be a genius of realistic fantasy while having no idea how big his own fucking continent is or where it is placed on the world.

Also, go read about equatorial and southern hemisphere cultures and enviroments. You don't need every world to be Fantasy Europe and Fantasy Asia. There ARE other continents, you know.

What, you think things just get hotter the more south you go, that's your universal experience? The southest you go, you'll find boiling water? Ancient Greek ass thinking. Literally.

Even the Greeks, however, knew the Earth was round and that there was temperate zones and polar zones in the south. They KNEW the Southern Hemisphere existed. (In fact, two hemispheres separated by a boiling equatorial ocean would be fun worldbuilding if unrealistic)

Betraying a Loved One. Your character made a choice, and it backfired, badly. They betrayed someone close to them, maybe on purpose, maybe by accident. Now, the guilt’s eating them alive. They might try to fix things, but can they even make up for what they did?

Guilt Over a Past Mistake. They made a mistake, one that cost someone else. Maybe it was reckless, maybe it was a dumb decision, but now it haunts them. They can’t stop thinking about it, and no matter how hard they try to make things right, the past keeps pulling them back.

Survivor’s Guilt. Imagine surviving something awful, an accident, a disaster, but someone else didn’t make it. Now your character is stuck asking, “Why me? Why am I still here?” They push people away, convinced they don’t deserve to be happy or even alive.

Feeling Powerless. Your character is trapped, maybe in an abusive home, a toxic relationship, or just in life itself. They feel stuck, with no control over their own future.

Being Wrongly Accused. They didn’t do it. But no one believes them. Your character has been falsely accused of something serious, maybe even a crime and now they’re fighting to clear their name. It’s not just about proving their innocence, though. They’re also battling the pain of being abandoned by people who were supposed to stand by them.

Public Humiliation. They’ve just been humiliated in front of everyone, maybe it’s a video gone viral, or they were betrayed by someone they trusted. Now, they can’t even look people in the eye.

Living in Someone’s Shadow. No matter what they do, it’s never enough. Someone else, a sibling, a friend, a partner, always shines brighter. They feel stuck in that person’s shadow, invisible and overlooked.

Abandoning a Dream. They had big dreams, but somewhere along the way, life got in the way, and now they’ve given up. Maybe it was because of fear or circumstances beyond their control, but the loss of that dream has left them feeling empty.

Childhood Trauma. Something happened to them when they were young, something painful that still affects them today. Whether it was abuse, neglect, or a significant loss, the trauma follows them into adulthood, shaping how they see themselves and the world.

Being an Outsider. They’ve never felt like they fit in, whether because of their background, their personality, or something else. They long for acceptance but fear they’ll never find it.

Struggling with Addiction. They’re caught in a destructive cycle, whether it’s with substances, behaviors, or even people. The shame and struggle to break free from addiction are real and raw.