A lot of authors seem to be confused about what “literally” means, because they tend to use it to add emphasis to an exaggeration. But literally means word for word, or without exaggeration.
So when an author says something is literally true, but she’s attached the word to an overstatement, it’s a contradition. In fact, you might say that it’s literally impossible.
Repeat after The Snarky Editor. Literally means really. If what you’re saying isn’t real — right down to the details — then it’s not literally so.
… since she was literally seconds away from having her baby…
One hopes the best friend is already in the delivery room, if she has only seconds to go.
She literally froze in place.
Not unless she’s at the North Pole or hanging out in a walk-in cooler.
So Muriel… literally flew up the stairs…
Nope — unless Muriel is a parakeet rather than a person.
I started flipping through the television channels and literally stumbled upon…
One has to be walking to stumble, which seems an unlikely combination with channel-surfing.
I’ve literally been buried in work.
Not unless she’s a ditch digger, or perhaps a funeral director.
My eyes were literally glued to the table…
Ouch! In fact, mega-ouch.
In all of these cases, the author is using exaggeration to make a point — which is pretty much the opposite of literally.
The proper word to use would have been figuratively — which means a representation, not the actual thing. Of course, saying things like “I’ve figuratively been buried in work” sounds clumsy.
So better yet, leave it out altogether and just make the statement:
She was seconds away from having her baby…She froze in place… Muriel flew up the stairs… I started flipping through the television channels and stumbled upon…I’ve been buried in work….My eyes were glued to the table…
Exaggertions are fine. It’s when we mistakenly label them as real that we literally get ourselves into trouble.
The Snarky Editor comes out of hiding occasionally to comment on the awkward, silly, and sometimes hilarious editing errors found in published books.
#snarkyeditor #everybodyneedsaneditor
Leigh Michaels is the award-winning author of more than 100 books, including historical and contemporary romance, non-fiction books about writing, and local history. More than 35 million copies of her books are in print in 27 languages and more than 120 countries. She is also a writing coach and book editor, though she promises to be snarky only in regard to published books.
To find out more, check out https://leighmichaels.com
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