tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post2406343089368521941..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: In defense of modifiersEdittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-53087467242958658362010-07-28T13:39:00.454-05:002010-07-28T13:39:00.454-05:00You know the speech about voice? Listen to it. I j...You know the speech about voice? Listen to it. I just got a rejection and the reason is that the story needed more sensory vividness, something I had cut out during final edits thinking it was too flowery. I had already submitted it before I read these last posts and wished I could take it back!<br /><br />Listen to your voice and what you want the story to be. I like the reference to David Tennant's Doctor Who Shakespeare episode. It's perfect. Words have power. Use them :DLeonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11786326364037397675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-82189340569904122622010-07-28T01:42:54.048-05:002010-07-28T01:42:54.048-05:00Leona, do you think that European lit is more... o...Leona, do you think that European lit is more... ornate? I mostly read 19th C British lit, and it definitely gets modifier-heavy, but boy, I love it. I feel it.<br /><br />I was watching the David Tennant Hamlet, and I was thinking that the best direction is -- feel all of the emotion, then try to repress it. Then only the really intense stuff leaks out!Edittorrenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-29272922095814134732010-07-28T01:38:34.534-05:002010-07-28T01:38:34.534-05:00Thanks, gj-- I'll use that with my students. ...Thanks, gj-- I'll use that with my students. They tend to believe anything in print. They need to be introduced to the idea that there are fallacies.<br />AliciaAlicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-20681148904833003672010-07-28T01:37:12.257-05:002010-07-28T01:37:12.257-05:00Corrie, I know. I tend towards the lush (others mi...Corrie, I know. I tend towards the lush (others might call it "purple") and revel in excess language. Oh, well. We can always cut back, right? Easier to cut than add, I always say. :)<br />AliciaAlicianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-40589265007736392982010-07-27T13:46:11.059-05:002010-07-27T13:46:11.059-05:00I love your use of begs the question as it "f...I love your use of begs the question as it "feels" like part of your voice and what makes you an interesting rather than dry teacher LOL<br /><br />Another fabulous post. You know, along with the IWM (I'm with Murphy) stamp, I think I need one that says "Great Again" or "This is Fabulous" or something. OOH the last one's initials would be TIF. I think we have a winner...<br />:D<br /><br />I read large quantities of fantasy and sci-fi where there is infinite amounts of world building. I think it has made me less sensitive to the usage of adjectives and adverbs as a bad thing. If the author didn't use descriptive words, we would get no sense of the new world or of how it is different from the one we are used to. I like the point that there are sometimes better technical ways to put things, but it is not always better.<br /><br />In the cottage instance, is a case in point. Adrian says:<br /><br />Bland: Jane entered the house.<br />Modified: Jane cautiously entered the small house.<br />Sharpened: Jane crept into the cottage.<br /><br />I can agree with that to a point. However, the connotations for crept versus cautiously entered are different for me as a reader. One denotes fear and reluctance, and one denotes, stealth and possibly wrong doing. Same with cottage and small house. I live in a rural area where small houses can be anything from a "cottage" (cute and "English" are the connotations for me on that word) to a farm laborers house. Some are hovels and some are well kept.<br /><br />My point is that we have to be careful when we are looking to fine tune our work. We need to make sure we don't fine tune it to mean something different than our original purpose.<br /><br />I'm all for Adrian's word changes, as the original sentence was bland and generic. All I'm saying is to be concise in our changes and clear in our purpose of the meaning of the sentence.Leonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11786326364037397675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-39057363263661323262010-07-26T09:32:05.500-05:002010-07-26T09:32:05.500-05:00Simplest correct replacement for "begs the qu...Simplest correct replacement for "begs the question" is "raises the question."<br /><br />Other options:<br /><br />Leads to the question<br />Makes me wonder why (or how, when, etc.)<br />I can't help asking, then, why/how/etc.<br />The inevitable question is ...<br /><br />Just not "begs the question" unless you're writing about logic, and you mean something along the lines of "failing to answer the question."<br /><br />If you want more information on the logical fallacy that begging the question refers to, I bet you'd find it at figarospeech.comgjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-39330899118551258872010-07-25T17:35:43.520-05:002010-07-25T17:35:43.520-05:00Yes! Thank you. I love Georgette Heyer (I was just...Yes! Thank you. I love Georgette Heyer (I was just re-reading Cotillion), and was reveling in her use of language. I've never felt like I could try to go that far though... breaking, or seeming to break, so many rules. But that's the kind of writing I love, words bleed out of me that way. I know I have to earn the right to use language the way she does, but this post was still very encouraging.Corriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08821607054612002855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-15122598582986672762010-07-24T16:04:55.303-05:002010-07-24T16:04:55.303-05:00I think the goal is to always Write Strong. Avoid...I think the goal is to always Write Strong. Avoid the weak and the passive. Obviously not all modifiers or adjectives or even adverbs fit in that category and gosh darn it, sometimes something just *sounds good.*<br /><br />JTJulie Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02880895598847092028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-50287067829452713802010-07-24T13:18:04.469-05:002010-07-24T13:18:04.469-05:00I think one of the pitfalls is when an author uses...I think one of the pitfalls is when an author uses a bland verb or noun and then "fixes" it by adding a modifier instead of replacing the boring word with a more specific one.<br /><br />Bland: Jane entered the house.<br />Modified: Jane <i>cautiously</i> entered the <i>small</i> house.<br />Sharpened: Jane <b>crept</b> into the <b>cottage</b>.Adriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-26382968797471187012010-07-24T11:26:34.375-05:002010-07-24T11:26:34.375-05:00Alicia said: Modifiers should modify, change the m...Alicia said: <i>Modifiers should modify, change the meaning of the unmodified word-- change it to mean what you want to mean.</i><br /><br />Yes, this is the crux of the issue. We don't need to say 'the large elephant' because the default idea in a reader's imagination is that elephants are large. If, however, it was a baby elephant, then yes, that modifier should be included. It's the redundant modifiers (and the ones that could be tightened with better noun/verb choice) that should be eliminated.<br /><br />Thanks for the great post!<br />Jami G.Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-4460140197461212412010-07-24T09:15:49.703-05:002010-07-24T09:15:49.703-05:00What a great post! I've always felt the same w...What a great post! I've always felt the same way, but then was frightened by the "rule police." I think this post is right on!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com