A writer, in her
or his quest to create a unique voice and to write sentences in unique ways,
must learn to juggle words, to disregard the most obvious choices to articulate
an idea.
Many grammatical
rules, though outdated and often unenforced, coax a writer’s hand to rephrase
her or his ideas.
I, in my quest to
formulate a unique voice for my fiction, frequently take these grammatical
rules to an unhealthy extreme, not because I bow to those “rules,” but because,
to satisfy them, I must repeatedly juggle the words within my sentences.
This results in
fresh sentences with an accent all their own.
Note that most
people don’t speak like this, and you don’t want all your characters to sound
the same. If you follow this path, ease up on it when you deal in dialogue.
Also note that
overly grammatically correct sentences will start to sound a bit stale. Pick
and choose (with purpose) which of these rules for which you shall develop OCD.
Remain consistent with them.
I, a writer of
fantasy novels such as the Diaries of
Darkwana series, enjoy more leeway with overly grammatical dialogue, as it
lends a majestic inflection to my otherworldly characters (or so I tell myself).
The list that
follows outlines some of my personal rules. You shouldn’t feel required to
follow them. Chances seem fair that the literary tune that results might not
fit your own story or style.
However, this list
might provide you with some idea what rules you’ll want to create and
faithfully follow.
1)
Never end your sentences with prepositions.
Let me speak as
clearly as possible. Plenty of perfect
sentences end with a preposition. The grammar police will not break down your
door if you disobey this “rule.”
However, this rule
often forces me to rework a sentence and find a more creative way to express
its idea. I like that.
2)
Avoid passive verbs such as: was, were, had,
have, is, and be. I even dislike do and does.
I go out of my way
on this one for two reasons.
First, I again
enjoy the aforementioned opportunity to reshuffle my words, seek out new ways
to express my sentences’ notions.
Second, passive
verbs sound passive. They also come
across as cheap and lazy.
I ought to admit
that some of my alternatives to these passive verbs rub certain readers the wrong
way. I heard more than once that a few readers found my replacements a
distraction, and that they wished I settled on a passive verb, instead.
I often write,
“possessed” instead of “had.”
“Existed” instead
of “was.”
“Become” instead
of “be.”
You’ll need to
(instead of “have to”) make your own choices. Keep in mind that you cannot
please everybody.
3)
Start with the subject.
I experimented,
not that long ago, with the other extreme. I didn’t want to repeatedly use the
same sentence structure (Subject-verb-object). I feared that this would begin
to sound monotone. I would often write:
“He reached into his vest pocket and grabbed the dead snake’s body. From his pocket, he threw the
half-rotten beast at the clown-demon. The demon’s face, the beast slapped.”
Okay. I never before wrote those sentences, but
I wanted to create a loud example of why this previous, bright idea of mine failed
so miserably.
"He reached into his vest pocket and grabbed
the dead snake’s body, threw the half-rotten beast at the clown-demon. The
beast slapped the clown’s face.”
It sounds more
active for a reason. My prior efforts to create a less monotone sound backfired
when I decided to mix the sentence structure.
Lesson learned.
Start with the subject, the part of your sentence that performs the action.
I shall, next
week, discuss those grammatical rules I do not
follow . . . and why I doubt you should, either.
(Thanks for reading.
You might notice below that I changed the schedule for my blogs. I will,
because of the number of projects on my plate, only produce a short story for
this blog on Mondays. Fiction Formula will switch from Fridays to Thursdays. I apologize
for any inconvenience, though I . . . doubt this will rock anyone's existence.
Thanks again!)
I
publish my blogs as follows:
Tuesdays:
A look at the politics of the entertainment world at EntertainmentMicroscope.blogspot.com.
Wednesdays:
An inside look at my novels (such as Daughters of Darkwana, which you can now find on Kindle) at Darkwana.blogspot.com
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