tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post891324897249928424..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: Summing up participles? Other thoughts?Edittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-86883132221416559272009-08-30T10:26:38.658-05:002009-08-30T10:26:38.658-05:00Alicia,
I look forward to it even though I know i...Alicia,<br /><br />I look forward to it even though I know it will bring more homework assignments. :)<br /><br />Jami G.Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-74632007994231444012009-08-30T01:56:58.949-05:002009-08-30T01:56:58.949-05:00Jami-- let me think on that and make a list. :)
Al...Jami-- let me think on that and make a list. :)<br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-10928397860651973032009-08-28T10:00:31.898-05:002009-08-28T10:00:31.898-05:00Alicia,
I have a fear of doing something "am...Alicia,<br /><br />I have a fear of doing something "amateur" without even knowing it. Any other "Avoid These Amateur Mistakes" tips? :)<br /><br />Thanks!<br />Jami G.Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-41663541715759767652009-08-27T22:49:57.507-05:002009-08-27T22:49:57.507-05:00"Fear of paragraphing!" A new phobia.
A..."Fear of paragraphing!" A new phobia.<br /><br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-68846041543277308082009-08-27T12:49:17.835-05:002009-08-27T12:49:17.835-05:00LOL! No, I am not afraid of paragraphs. In fact,...LOL! No, I am not afraid of paragraphs. In fact, I find myself more frequently wondering--when reading some of the genre fiction I read--"when did one or two sentences become the standard paragraph length?" <br /><br />Has anyone else noticed this trend? James Patterson made the teeny tiny chapter standard, and now it seems like half the books I read have these teeny tiny paragraphs!Laura K. Curtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444534759113332744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-87670743672352560582009-08-27T11:50:15.379-05:002009-08-27T11:50:15.379-05:00Laura, long sentences can be evocative when used f...Laura, long sentences can be evocative when used for effect-- not overused, however. I keep pounding this point-- there is no effect when we use a device in most circumstances. Long sentences throughout the manuscript will actually detract from long sentences used for effect in certain passages.<br /><br />Please don't think I'm "against" long sentences. I am against sentences that are too long to make easy sense, and sentences that bury the meaning in a lot of verbiage, and yes, long sentences as the rule-- precisely because it deprives the writer of the ability to use long sentences when they add to the narrative.<br /><br />I am especially against sentences that are long because the writer has a fear of paragraphs. (g) But I'm sure none of that is a problem for you!<br /><br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-55623958800480887492009-08-27T09:48:28.788-05:002009-08-27T09:48:28.788-05:00Great post!
One addition might be that dialogue d...Great post!<br /><br />One addition might be that dialogue does not need to be in complete sentences with SV. Often people speak in incomplete sentences.Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03077791761104576436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-45604150597366357122009-08-26T23:39:43.314-05:002009-08-26T23:39:43.314-05:00Thanks, Laura!
And it was JWhit who mentioned tha...Thanks, Laura!<br /><br />And it was JWhit who mentioned that inflections often should come before the main clause.<br /><br />AliciaEdittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-49270751004162679372009-08-26T22:33:44.190-05:002009-08-26T22:33:44.190-05:00Missy -
Present Participial Phrases (like "w...Missy -<br /><br />Present Participial Phrases (like "winking at her...") and Subject-Verb-Object.<br /><br />:)<br />LauraLaura K. Curtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444534759113332744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-32411051741703085542009-08-26T22:32:23.734-05:002009-08-26T22:32:23.734-05:00I am a bit of the odd one out in this, I think, si...I am a bit of the odd one out in this, I think, since I do like long sentences. (In fact, I posted a couple of paragraphs on my blog that I am sure would make you cringe, but that I just loved when I came across them in a thriller I was reading -- http://www.womenofmystery.net/2009/08/genre-writing.html )<br /><br />The thing is, I like long sentences when I want them to convey motion, like in a paragraph describing, say, a waltz. They can also be used as mood setters. On the other hand, I am a huge fan of the short, declarative sentence, especially <i>following</i> a long one. I almost never use two long sentences in a row.<br /><br />I think putting the subject up front is important not only to keep <i>yourself</i> straight, so you don't have danglers, but also to keep your readers on track. Especially when scenes involve several people, putting the subject up front allows readers to feel secure about where they are and what they are looking at, if that makes sense. (It's late and I am tired.)<br /><br />I don't object to PPPs, but I have discovered after your posts that I don't use nearly as many as I thought and that they are almost always trailing rather than up front. <br /><br />Next up, appositives. I need to clean some of those out of my WIP!Laura K. Curtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444534759113332744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-23210674478886814662009-08-26T21:52:53.036-05:002009-08-26T21:52:53.036-05:00I almost need a dictionary for the abbreviatios. W...I almost need a dictionary for the abbreviatios. What's PPP, and SVO stand for?<br /><br />I agree in varying the sentence lengths you can make your point sometimes more effectvely in fiction.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12732636662642785408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-89329892202597747202009-08-26T21:26:01.834-05:002009-08-26T21:26:01.834-05:00Alicia,
I think you answered your own question. ...Alicia,<br /><br />I think you answered your own question. :) The more conversational our prose, the more that sentence openings will tend to vary naturally. I'm looking at the first words of all your sentences in this post and there's variety in those clean sentences. :)<br /><br />If we write with a natural cadence, we'll automatically include all those transition-type phrases to mix things up. As Jordan mentioned, sometimes we're just trying too hard to be "writerly".<br /><br />I hope to eventually get to the point that all those grammar rules come so intuitively that if I just write in a streaming sort of way, the sentences will still follow the rules. But as writers, we're told to make every word count and be perfect. Sometimes that zoomed-in focus makes it hard for us to maintain the natural flow - can't see the forest for the trees and all that.<br /><br />Jami G.Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.com