250 Things You Should Know About Writing by Chuck Wendig Page A
Authors: Chuck Wendig
Tags: Reference
Ads: Link
subject. But if you rewrote that to be, "Betty was strangled by Bob," you've made the subject of the sentence separate from the actor. You can spot passive language generally with the verb "to be" bound up with the past participle ("was strangled by").
20. I Murders The Nasty Adverbses!
An adjective modifies a noun, an adverb modifies a verb. Adjectives seem okay, and yet adverbs get a bad rap. What's the deal? Adverbs alone are not poison. They do not by themselves sink a sentence. In fact, what people often identify as adverbs is a small subset of the whole pie. For instance, that word I just used -- "often" -- is an adverb. It modifies "identify" as an element of frequency. If I say, "John lives here," then know that "here" is an adverb (modifying "lives" -- he lives where? Here.) How do you know if an adverb belongs? Read the sentence aloud. "Gary giggled delightedly" has two problems -- first, giggling already indicates delight , and second, delightedly sounds clunky when you speak that sentence aloud. You notice it when you speak it. Again: we read with our ears as well as our eyes.
21. Beware The Sentence With A Big Ass
What I mean is, you don't want a sentence with a lot of junk in the trunk. Junk language, like junk food, is both easy and delicious. Writing a good sentence is often about what to omit as much as it is about what goes into the mix. Beware: clichés, redundancies, pleonasms, needlessly complicated clauses, bullshit intensifiers ( really, actually, truly, severely, totally ), euphemisms, and passive constructions.
22. Though, Sometimes We Like A Big Ass
Like I said -- avoid all those things. Except when you don't. Horrible and confusing, I know, but here's the deal: you have to know the rules and then, from time to time, slap those rules like a red-cheeked parking attendant. Sometimes, we want to look at Kim Kardashian's massive pork roast behind because, well, we just do so shut up about it . Adding in rare junk language can , if done right, add a conversational feel to your writing. If that's what you seek.
23. My Greatest Foe: The Expletive Construction
You might think I'd love the expletive construction, what with me being such a fan of, well, expletives . But this isn't that. No fuck shit sonofadamnbastard here, I'm afraid. Nay, the expletive construction is when you begin a sentence with "there is." (Found quite frequently in movie trailers, or in the opening lines of novels.) This construction is often both lazy and passive. Don't use it. Your sentence is better than that. Here's why: you can always rewrite a "there is" sentence in a better, more confident manner. "There is a fly in my soup" sounds much better when written as, "A fly flew into my soup," or, "I see a fly in my soup," or, "Why the fuck is there a fly in my soup, get me your manager, I want to watch him eat the fly in front of all the other restaurant patrons, because if he doesn't, I'm going to deliver an epic testicular kicking to all parties present." Or something like that.
24. You Have 15,000 Chances To Fuck It Up
But, you also have as many chances to make it sing. What I'm saying is, the average novel has 15,000 sentences. Each one can't be poetry. Not unless you're willing to commit years to a single book. What you can do is make sure they're right from the get-go. Know how to write the right sentence. Learn the tips above. Find your own tricks to write a mean-ass motherfucker of a sentence -- a sentence that sings, a sentence that bites. A sentence that conveys information clearly and without confusion and with a cadence beating in its heart.
25. You Don't Need To Be A Compositional Grammar Nerd To Write A Cracking Good Sentence
A sentence is home to endless possible complexities. The entire power of language composition lives inside a sentence. You should know how to write. Know where punctuation goes, know what works and what doesn't. But you'll eventually hit a limit of when it becomes useful
20. I Murders The Nasty Adverbses!
An adjective modifies a noun, an adverb modifies a verb. Adjectives seem okay, and yet adverbs get a bad rap. What's the deal? Adverbs alone are not poison. They do not by themselves sink a sentence. In fact, what people often identify as adverbs is a small subset of the whole pie. For instance, that word I just used -- "often" -- is an adverb. It modifies "identify" as an element of frequency. If I say, "John lives here," then know that "here" is an adverb (modifying "lives" -- he lives where? Here.) How do you know if an adverb belongs? Read the sentence aloud. "Gary giggled delightedly" has two problems -- first, giggling already indicates delight , and second, delightedly sounds clunky when you speak that sentence aloud. You notice it when you speak it. Again: we read with our ears as well as our eyes.
21. Beware The Sentence With A Big Ass
What I mean is, you don't want a sentence with a lot of junk in the trunk. Junk language, like junk food, is both easy and delicious. Writing a good sentence is often about what to omit as much as it is about what goes into the mix. Beware: clichés, redundancies, pleonasms, needlessly complicated clauses, bullshit intensifiers ( really, actually, truly, severely, totally ), euphemisms, and passive constructions.
22. Though, Sometimes We Like A Big Ass
Like I said -- avoid all those things. Except when you don't. Horrible and confusing, I know, but here's the deal: you have to know the rules and then, from time to time, slap those rules like a red-cheeked parking attendant. Sometimes, we want to look at Kim Kardashian's massive pork roast behind because, well, we just do so shut up about it . Adding in rare junk language can , if done right, add a conversational feel to your writing. If that's what you seek.
23. My Greatest Foe: The Expletive Construction
You might think I'd love the expletive construction, what with me being such a fan of, well, expletives . But this isn't that. No fuck shit sonofadamnbastard here, I'm afraid. Nay, the expletive construction is when you begin a sentence with "there is." (Found quite frequently in movie trailers, or in the opening lines of novels.) This construction is often both lazy and passive. Don't use it. Your sentence is better than that. Here's why: you can always rewrite a "there is" sentence in a better, more confident manner. "There is a fly in my soup" sounds much better when written as, "A fly flew into my soup," or, "I see a fly in my soup," or, "Why the fuck is there a fly in my soup, get me your manager, I want to watch him eat the fly in front of all the other restaurant patrons, because if he doesn't, I'm going to deliver an epic testicular kicking to all parties present." Or something like that.
24. You Have 15,000 Chances To Fuck It Up
But, you also have as many chances to make it sing. What I'm saying is, the average novel has 15,000 sentences. Each one can't be poetry. Not unless you're willing to commit years to a single book. What you can do is make sure they're right from the get-go. Know how to write the right sentence. Learn the tips above. Find your own tricks to write a mean-ass motherfucker of a sentence -- a sentence that sings, a sentence that bites. A sentence that conveys information clearly and without confusion and with a cadence beating in its heart.
25. You Don't Need To Be A Compositional Grammar Nerd To Write A Cracking Good Sentence
A sentence is home to endless possible complexities. The entire power of language composition lives inside a sentence. You should know how to write. Know where punctuation goes, know what works and what doesn't. But you'll eventually hit a limit of when it becomes useful
Similar Books
Long Mile Home: Boston Under Attack, the City's Courageous Recovery, and the Epic Hunt for Justice
Scott Helman, Jenna Russell
