tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post3938679556707927949..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: It takes more than a question mark to make a question.Edittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-61391783949955859212011-12-20T06:43:21.205-06:002011-12-20T06:43:21.205-06:00What if...
Your main character does not have a na...What if...<br /><br />Your main character does not have a name?<br /><br />And what if...<br /><br />There is no protagonist, just an antagonist, the main charcter?<br /><br />And, what if there is no happy end, no solution to the antagonistic situation?<br /><br />The main character is a female psychopath, a paid killer working for the -- er, the government. Despite learning the truth about the people she has killed (5,000+) she (naturally) carries on.<br /><br />How would you "genre" this? The theme is murder for gain.Thomas Sharkeynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-12210960278732080572011-12-13T16:39:51.862-06:002011-12-13T16:39:51.862-06:00@Terry—totally agree on both the occasional "...@Terry—totally agree on both the occasional "head words" to add emphasis, and that there are definitely times when people phrase statements as questions (or judgments). I usually omit the question mark on those, too. (Though I often put in a statement about how it was obviously not a question, too, to prove that it was a stylistic choice, not a mistake.)<br /><br />But if you miss question marks, it's not a big deal as long as somebody catches it! To quote Big Bird, "Everyone makes mistakes." And we usually don't publish first drafts.Jordan McCollumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16523599384793856702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-14037214004702361202011-12-13T09:47:56.695-06:002011-12-13T09:47:56.695-06:00You hit it with "narrative distance." If...You hit it with "narrative distance." If you're writing deep POV, then you should be firmly entrenched in your character's head so all those thoughts and wondereds aren't needed. (Although I think sometimes they provide emphasis if used sparingly.)<br /><br />I'm guilty of leaving off question marks--mostly because of oversights. My early crit partner gave me a page of them and told me she had more if I ran out. <br /><br />On occasion, I omit question marks when a male characters is speaking because he's not really asking a question, merely phrasing it that way so it doesn't sound like the command it really is. <br /><br />Terry <br /><a href="http://terryodell.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Terry's Place</a><br /><a href="http://www.terryodell.com" rel="nofollow">Romance with a Twist--of Mystery</a>Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-79525179751752804982011-12-12T16:42:56.122-06:002011-12-12T16:42:56.122-06:00Ooh ooh, goodie. We agree. Thank you for handling ...Ooh ooh, goodie. We agree. Thank you for handling this question in all its bloody detail. You're so fine that way.<br /><br />And while we're on this thanking mission, thank you for all the year's posts, thank you for the posts for as long as I've been reading this blog. Alicia too comes in for thanks. Anything I want to know I can find it here somewhere. In detail.theahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00156148888243414839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-41546067039706220102011-12-12T14:47:34.512-06:002011-12-12T14:47:34.512-06:00(You packed a lot into that conclusion, LOL.)
I o...(You packed a lot into that conclusion, LOL.)<br /><br />I often see this problem, and its opposite: the missing question mark. That one drives me nuts. The sentence even begins with a question word. For example:<br /><br />How could he do this to her.<br /><br />(I can't type it without the question mark, LOL.)Jordan McCollumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16523599384793856702noreply@blogger.com