06-05-2017, 10:36 AM | #31 |
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06-05-2017, 10:42 AM | #32 |
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Funny this should come up. This week, my 14-year-old son commented on a passage in an LM Montgomery book where the author used an ellipsis in narration. He said he had just been taught in is middle-school Honors Language Arts class that ellipses should only be used in dialog.
I disagreed (as, obviously, did LMM). I can see, however, that there might be stylistic prohibitions against that kind of punctuation use. It seems like it would be a good rule to follow in journalism, for example. I wonder what the various style guides say on the matter. ApK |
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06-05-2017, 10:50 AM | #33 | ||
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06-05-2017, 10:57 AM | #34 | |
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Usual answer because you aren't so and so and that is not how he did it. |
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06-05-2017, 11:45 AM | #35 | |
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I think the trick is KNOWING you're able to do it, and knowing WHY you should, not JUST doing to copy someone. I don't know if so-and-so themself was inspired to emulate someone he read and admired, or if it was a totally original thing, but either way, if it worked, it worked, and they didn't need permission. I wouldn't surprised if some editor at first told Dickens "Sorry, kid, I know Chaucer did it, but you ain't no Chaucer," but Dickens was confident enough in his talent to ignore him. (I've never read Chaucer and have no idea if Dickens did anything he did, it was just the first pre-Dickensian literary giant name to pop into my head. Shakespeare! I should have said Shakespeare!) |
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06-05-2017, 12:33 PM | #36 |
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I'm not saying this discussion about emulating "so and so" is wrong, but it's not quite that clean cut in reality.
Some excellent advice that is given to writers is to read a lot and to read widely, and also that they must be familiar with genre they plan to write in. Such advice is not there specifically to tell writers to emulate successful authors, but it is intended that writers should learn what works and what doesn't, particularly in their genre. One consequence is that some things will rub off, intentionally or not, and a writer will be influenced by those they have read. It's not really something you can avoid, though you can alleviate the problem by placing emphasis on "read widely". Of course a writer is supposed to know the rules, but the rules for fiction are not quite the same as the formal rules you find elsewhere. They're close, but stick to strictly formal prose and your work will be lost before you start. You learn that you can get away with more stuff in dialogue than you can in direct narrative. But then you also discover that certain situations require a more direct character point of view in the narrative. And so the rules start to get hazy. There is only one solution: write. Write lots and eventually you will start to learn what works for you and what doesn't. Recently, in another thread, I mentioned my failed attempt to emulate Neil Gaiman's fairytale voice from Stardust. I almost got it for a couple of thousand words, but I couldn't keep it up. As ApK mentioned, recognising failure is the trick. In this case it was obvious, but other situations it becomes try it and see what the readers think. |
06-05-2017, 01:20 PM | #37 |
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There's an old saying that you can do anything you want in writing so long as you do it well enough.
The rule I try to follow is not to flout convention unless I know why the convention exists, and what effect it will have to flout it. |
06-05-2017, 01:26 PM | #38 | |
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Two quotes speak to the point: "There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind." --Duke Ellington "If a note isn't right when I start playing it, it'll be right when I'm done." --Miles Davis, I think, or words to that effect. |
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06-05-2017, 01:49 PM | #39 |
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I use sentence fragments for pacing or when the narrative reflects a character's fragmented thinking.
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06-05-2017, 04:46 PM | #40 | |
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I once looked through a CM book and no he didn't. Another example was Hugh Howey writes serials so I am just copying him. 1. Two different genres. 2. HH did have some resolution. He didn't just throw in more problems. No, the person in the above example had not actually read any part of Wool. Oh and I think everyone has copied Shakespeare in one form or other. |
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06-06-2017, 12:49 AM | #41 | |
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The problem with saying that you have to know the rules before you break them is that it implies that you consciously break rules to some specific effect, but this gets things in the wrong order. You write it first because it sounds right, only later do you notice that you've broken convention and then try to decide whether you can (or should try to) get away with it. Your choices in this regard get better with experience. (Well, my phrasing is the generic "you" when what I really mean is "me" - perhaps it doesn't work this way for everyone.) |
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06-08-2017, 11:47 PM | #42 | |
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As for using !! and !? I use them sparingly, but I do occasionally find places where they're useful outside of dialog. Then again, I don't use them that often even in dialog except where I think a little bit of extra punch is needed. Beyond that I like to avoid using them as much as possible. But, I don't completely forbid myself from using them. ^_^ |
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06-08-2017, 11:57 PM | #43 | |
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Now use them as you feel necessary, just make sure to use ' appropriately. |
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06-09-2017, 12:06 PM | #44 |
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Oh, I fully agree. Balance is the key.
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06-10-2017, 04:40 AM | #45 |
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