Awesome, Amazing, Anachronistic

In my everyday life, “awesome” and “amazing” are some of my favorite words to describe something that is, well, awesome or amazing. Yet, I worry that using these words in my novels will ruin the cohesive, otherworldly vibe that I have carefully curated.

Anachronisms and the Tiffany problem are the Scylla and Charybdis of writing words like “awesome” and “amazing.”

First, some definitions.

Anachronisms are when a person, object, event, or phrase appear that are not appropriate for their time. For example, if a story was set in the 1920s or 1930s, people would have referred to World War I as “the Great War” since World War II did not happen yet. Since Therreth is a made up world, I could argue that any word I want to use is appropriate for the time period – within limits.

My one world building rule is that it is a preindustrial society; therefore, I should avoid diction and similes that require understanding of technology that does not (yet?) exist in my world. For example, a “train of thought” would make no sense for someone in a world with no trains, and “backfire” would make no sense for someone in a world with no guns.

The “Tiffany problem” is when a word – or name, like Tiffany – sounds anachronistic even if it is historically accurate. Though Tiffany was a name common in the 12th century, modern-day readers feel that it is “too modern,” breaking the immersion.

I did some very light research into “awesome” and “amazing.”

Awesome originated in the 16th century to mean “full of awe,” “inspiring awe or fear.” Throughout the 18th century, it was still formal and had religious undertones. In the 1930s-1940s it became more common usage, and became a casual, positive phrase in the 1960s.

Amazing originated in the 14th and 15th century to mean “to astonish, bewilder, or confuse.” In the 17th century, it took on a more positive connotation though still quite formal. In the 1960s, it became a casual, informal phrase with positive meaning.

Especially because of the religious themes of my novels, I wanted to use awesome (e.g., God’s awesome power) and amazing (e.g., God’s amazing grace). At least, I wanted Serena and Sage to use awesome and amazing. But even though it would be historically accurate, and perhaps more historically accurate for these two monastic girls to use these praise words, would it break immersion? Frankly, it breaks my immersion – so, how could I expect it to not break my readers?

With some sadness, I have decided to do my best to remove “awesome” and “amazing” from my manuscript. But what should I replace it with? I looked into “wonderful,” “marvelous,” “remarkable,” and “incredible.” They originated in the 14th through 17th centuries, so are not anachronistic to preindustrial, English-speaking societies in the real world. But to me, “incredible” still feels quite modern. I decided to go with Serena saying “wonderful” (causing wonder) and “marvelous” (astonishing, wondrous) and Kara using “remarkable” (worthy of notice) as their go-to praise words.

If you are a also writer, then what words make you feel like you are crossing between Scylla and Charybdis? Being forced to navigate between maintaining quasi-historical accuracy and maintaining immersion in the fantasy world that you have built?

The other one I am curious about how other writers deal with is units. Like, “hours” and “minutes,” “inches” and “miles” (wow, I didn’t realize until I typed it that reference to Rent’s Seasons of Love)? I am torn between wanting readers to understand what I am describing and feeling like it is a missed opportunity for world building. Not that I have figured this out for my world yet… For sizing, I have tried to reference other items that might be familiar to us in the real world and the people of Therreth (e.g., width of a finger) or in reference to other things already introduced (e.g., the sanctuary in Bethanna was twice the size of the Hexpax chapel). For time, I haven’t found a good solution yet and might just stick to using “hours” and “minutes,” but I am open to other ideas!

As a reader, are there any words that are an obvious immersion-breaker ? It is very, very difficult for me to find alternative words, sometimes, but I do my best to delete all “okay” and “of course.” I try to find a way to express that leaning into the character’s personality, but it’s not always easy.

Let me know in the comments – what words give you challenges and how are you handling it? What words should I avoid in my writing?