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alias_sqbrMasterlist
Uh oh.
She recs some books on grammar I am 100% not going to read.
Yeah I would absolutely benefit from those grammar books if I did read them. OH WELL.
Lol ok boomer :P
EXERCISE TWO: Am I Saramago
Write a paragraph to a page (150–350 words) of narrative with no punctuation (and no paragraphs or other breaking devices).
Suggested subject: A group of people engaged in a hurried or hectic or confused activity, such as a revolution, or the scene of an accident, or the first few minutes of a one-day sale.
Ursula you're killing me here. HMMM lets go for scifi pastiche.
a light goes off and then an alarm and theres shouting shouting everywhere the voices combine and contradict each other go this way go that hands flying across consoles feet slamming across the floor in a run to raise the shields but it's too late they're here and the whole sky is full of ships upon ships huge and bristling with lights and weapons and smaller ships that scatter out like seeds there's constant shouting and yet no communication over and over demands then requests then begging but there's nothing and then everything goes bright and hot and then cold and dark and quiet and I am alone
(Yes I have been watching Murderbot)
What writing it felt like; how it differed from writing with the usual signs and guides and breaks; whether it led you to write differently from the way you usually write or gave you a different approach to something you’ve tried to write. Was the process valuable? Is the result readable?
So at first it SUCKED because I had NO IDEA how to write it, but then I just thought of it as one long breathless sentence, I've written shorter versions of that sort of thing before. It was valuable as a challenge, can't tell if it's readable for anyone other than me!
If punctuation is something you’ve generally avoided thinking about, here’s a challenge: sit down all by yourself and go through a few paragraphs of a book you like and admire and just study the punctuation.
Sounds like a good time to work on my game adapting a classic novel!
...ok I read it and considered it but attempting deep thoughts is hurting my brain.
She says to try punctuating the unpunctuated prose a week later, so I'll set myself a reminder.
*A week passes*
*I spend a good ten minutes going "WHY DID I SET MYSELF A REMINDER SAYING NOTHING BUT "REPUNCTUATE???"*
A light goes off, and then an alarm, and there's shouting, shouting everywhere. The voices combine and contradict each other: "go this way, go that". Hands flying across consoles, feet slamming across the floor in a run to raise the shields. But it's too late. They're here, and the whole sky is full of ships upon ships, huge and bristling with lights and weapons, and smaller ships that scatter out like seeds. There's constant shouting, and yet no communication. Over and over, demands then requests, then begging. But there's nothing. And then everything goes bright and hot, and then cold and dark and quiet, and I am alone.
OK. DONE. If I was feeling fancy I might have used a few dashes and semicolons, but I'm tired.
Uh oh.
This topic is closely related to the last one, because punctuation tells the reader how to hear your writing
I can’t separate punctuation from grammar, because to a large extent learning how to write grammatically is learning how to punctuate, and vice versa.
She recs some books on grammar I am 100% not going to read.
I detest the self-righteousness of the correctness bullies... But I have to walk a razor’s edge in this book, because the fact is that usage, particularly in writing, is a social matter, a general social agreement about how we make ourselves understood. Ignorance of the rules makes hash of the sentences. In written prose, incorrect usage, unless part of a conscious, consistent dialect or personal voice, is disastrous.
Yeah I would absolutely benefit from those grammar books if I did read them. OH WELL.
Our standards for writing are different than for speaking. They have to be, because when we read, we don’t have the speaker’s voice and expression and intonation to make half-finished sentences and misused words clear. ... The reader has only the words. Emoticons are dreary little excuses for a failure to communicate feelings and intentions in words.
Lol ok boomer :P
My use of their is socially motivated and, if you like, politically correct: a deliberate response to the socially and politically significant banning of our genderless pronoun by language legislators enforcing the notion that the male sex is the only one that counts. I consistently break a rule I consider to be not only fake but pernicious. I know what I’m doing and why. ... And that’s the important thing for a writer: to know what you’re doing with your language and why.
EXERCISE TWO: Am I Saramago
Write a paragraph to a page (150–350 words) of narrative with no punctuation (and no paragraphs or other breaking devices).
Suggested subject: A group of people engaged in a hurried or hectic or confused activity, such as a revolution, or the scene of an accident, or the first few minutes of a one-day sale.
Ursula you're killing me here. HMMM lets go for scifi pastiche.
a light goes off and then an alarm and theres shouting shouting everywhere the voices combine and contradict each other go this way go that hands flying across consoles feet slamming across the floor in a run to raise the shields but it's too late they're here and the whole sky is full of ships upon ships huge and bristling with lights and weapons and smaller ships that scatter out like seeds there's constant shouting and yet no communication over and over demands then requests then begging but there's nothing and then everything goes bright and hot and then cold and dark and quiet and I am alone
(Yes I have been watching Murderbot)
What writing it felt like; how it differed from writing with the usual signs and guides and breaks; whether it led you to write differently from the way you usually write or gave you a different approach to something you’ve tried to write. Was the process valuable? Is the result readable?
So at first it SUCKED because I had NO IDEA how to write it, but then I just thought of it as one long breathless sentence, I've written shorter versions of that sort of thing before. It was valuable as a challenge, can't tell if it's readable for anyone other than me!
If punctuation is something you’ve generally avoided thinking about, here’s a challenge: sit down all by yourself and go through a few paragraphs of a book you like and admire and just study the punctuation.
Sounds like a good time to work on my game adapting a classic novel!
...ok I read it and considered it but attempting deep thoughts is hurting my brain.
She says to try punctuating the unpunctuated prose a week later, so I'll set myself a reminder.
*A week passes*
*I spend a good ten minutes going "WHY DID I SET MYSELF A REMINDER SAYING NOTHING BUT "REPUNCTUATE???"*
A light goes off, and then an alarm, and there's shouting, shouting everywhere. The voices combine and contradict each other: "go this way, go that". Hands flying across consoles, feet slamming across the floor in a run to raise the shields. But it's too late. They're here, and the whole sky is full of ships upon ships, huge and bristling with lights and weapons, and smaller ships that scatter out like seeds. There's constant shouting, and yet no communication. Over and over, demands then requests, then begging. But there's nothing. And then everything goes bright and hot, and then cold and dark and quiet, and I am alone.
OK. DONE. If I was feeling fancy I might have used a few dashes and semicolons, but I'm tired.
