tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post5392082104244496857..comments2024-03-26T15:49:05.333-07:00Comments on Criminal Minds: Do as I Say, Damn It!Josh Stallingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913654176433125233noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-49510428423182424862019-02-02T03:51:38.492-08:002019-02-02T03:51:38.492-08:00I'm with Peter on this, he declared with unaba...I'm with Peter on this, he declared with unabashed enthusiasm.<br /><br />Dialogue tags other than said are describing what the quote should have done. When you follow the dialogue with a name, then "said.," readers don't even read the "said, they read it like a screenplay. Writers and authors can do whatever they want, of course. When we sell books in the numbers of Cormac McCarthy, you can even skip punctuation. Doesn't mean it's a good idea to make your words harder to read. Elmore's "rules" -- which he states are not rules for everyone -- are for fiction writers who subscribe to the "fly on the wall" (leave the author out of the story) method. <br />Jack Getzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09516237388744739669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-73478798234124621202019-02-01T17:56:50.934-08:002019-02-01T17:56:50.934-08:00But, Peter, I use the conditional mood. And I supp...But, Peter, I use the conditional mood. And I support it. But if a writer—a fiction writer—eschews it, well... there may be a reason for it. The old man yelling at the cloud is for fun. And I’m more on your side than you know. James W. Ziskinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07677940119373480715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-33709028473570588022019-02-01T13:52:41.142-08:002019-02-01T13:52:41.142-08:00Yes in re averred, asserted, and the like. I used ...Yes in re averred, asserted, and the like. I used to use attributions like that. Then I turned 17.<br /><br />Yes, language changes. No, that obvious truth is not license for linguistic anarchy. Adverbs were in favor in American hard-boiled crime writing of the 1930s and 1940s, but very much less so today. Acknowledging that fashions come and go in writing, as in other things, does not mean that one ought to have free rein with adverbs now.<br /><br />And I was the first, as far as I know, to predict that the conditional mood will disappear from American English within fifty years. That comes from seeing how many reporters in recent years have produced sentences along the lines of "A Senate committee yesterday approved a bill that WILL raise taxes on income above the first $50 million." Anyone who produces a sentence like that is ignorant of the conditional, of the American legislative process, or both. In forty years, someone will sneer at people who insist on using the conditional, maybe even posting cartoons that compare the pro-conditionalists to old men yelling at clouds. I recognize that language changes, but neither I nor anyone else is under any obligation to accept such changes. Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00462613569763082673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-35573467649533303702019-02-01T13:23:48.444-08:002019-02-01T13:23:48.444-08:00Jim, Pair your linguistics study with the realizat...Jim, Pair your linguistics study with the realization that writers have to appeal to younger readers and I see that the pluperfect subjunctive is a dead mouse.Susan C Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18225627756540127032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-24286579846642356402019-02-01T12:37:53.553-08:002019-02-01T12:37:53.553-08:00"It was a dark and stormy night..." Is t..."It was a dark and stormy night..." Is the opening of A Wrinkle in Time.<br />Bad writing is like porn: you know it when you see it. <br />She averred.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-39671517215266180122019-02-01T10:31:23.550-08:002019-02-01T10:31:23.550-08:00Good points made here. I think of these “rules” no...Good points made here. I think of these “rules” not as law, but as things worth thinking about. <br /><br />That said ....<br /><br />“Who is throwing books against the wall because a character in a book somewhere “blinked his eyes”?”<br /><br />I am.Jim Thomsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16436505068478971925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-48948755839396610162019-02-01T10:26:00.164-08:002019-02-01T10:26:00.164-08:00I'm a fan of using "said" synonyms. ...I'm a fan of using "said" synonyms. Only using said is like describing all colors as brown or green or blue. No poetry in that. Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-70754992730094119702019-01-31T15:44:33.206-08:002019-01-31T15:44:33.206-08:00I took a course in grad school called pragmatic li...I took a course in grad school called pragmatic linguistics. For my final paper, I wrote about contrary-to-fact-if clauses in American sportscasters. My thesis was that the pluperfect subjunctive was disappearing in favor of the present tense within that tiny community, but spreading through television and radio exposure to sports fans in general. I believe it is ubiquitous today among American football fans. <br /><br />Here’s an example:<br /><br />A receiver is wide open with an unobstructed path to the end zone. The quarterback passes him the ball. It’s a perfect pass, but the receiver drops it. Then the announcer says—after the play—“If he catches that, it’s a touchdown.”<br /><br />Not, “If he had caught that, it would have been a touchdown” as prescriptivist grammarians would demand. <br /><br />You hear this construction ALL THE TIME today on televised sports in this country.<br /><br />I wrote my paper in 1988. James W. Ziskinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07677940119373480715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-15877983662570433252019-01-31T13:57:23.767-08:002019-01-31T13:57:23.767-08:00Catriona and I were chatting on Facebook the other...Catriona and I were chatting on Facebook the other day about subjective tense. I still write "If she were to agree..." but Catriona (a professional linguist) says that kind of subjunctive form is fast disappearing as language evolves. An other rule biting the dust?Susan C Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18225627756540127032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-37281277450089341032019-01-31T06:32:51.896-08:002019-01-31T06:32:51.896-08:00Ah yes, I remember all those do's and don'...Ah yes, I remember all those do's and don't's I received when I first started writing. Didn't follow a single one of them. I think we are all in agreement this week. Do your own thing and you'll get along just nicely. Good post, Jim.RJ Harlickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08060655046361699727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-9341810978162415752019-01-31T06:01:01.375-08:002019-01-31T06:01:01.375-08:00Well said, James. I agree, you've just got to ...Well said, James. I agree, you've just got to bend a few rules and find your own style. Whatever works.Dietrich Kalteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06403361738445161528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4994072470312639837.post-62195204463622238712019-01-31T04:23:03.563-08:002019-01-31T04:23:03.563-08:00Some good advice here on navigating the perceived ...Some good advice here on navigating the perceived rules of writing. An interesting post, Jim.7 Criminal Mindshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06060496735767676472noreply@blogger.com