Grammatical license?

KellyS. · Feb 14, 2005

I realize that some characters simply have to be written exactly as they speak. Sometimes you have to misspell so that the reader can "hear" them correctly.

That said, does anyone try to make things grammatically correct all of the time? (Five year old is mom'ing me right now lol.) I've read bestsellers that have one word sentences. For some reason, it drives me crazy!

For instance: That tree is big. Huge.

Is this referred to as colloquial (sp?) writing? Someone told me that, but have no idea as to it's validity.

While I normally try to constrain everything into complete proper sentences (posting aside), this would allow a bit more freedom.

Any thoughts?

Birol · Feb 14, 2005

The one word sentence and the sentence fragment help pacing and rhythm. If you're trying to up the pacing and increase tension, you may choose to use sentence fragments or even one word sentences. The reader, if they're really into the story, may never notice it.

maestrowork · Feb 14, 2005

I like sentence fragments. Punchy.

That's technically not a grammatical problem. Some people may object to it as a stylistic choice.

If every sentence in your prose is a complete sentence (subject+verb+object), it makes for a very boring read. You need variation.

You can do just about anything in dialogue, as long as it works.

katdad · Feb 14, 2005

Dialogue grammar

Yes, one-word dialogue sentences are all right. You may not like them, so you're free to avoid them in your writing, but modern dialogue has many "rule-breakers" and they are acceptable.

As to whether it's referred to as "colloquial", I doubt it. Normal, realistic dialogue doesn't have to be grammatically perfect. I'd put "colloquial" labels on things like "He shore got a purty mouth." Dialect, or sometimes ungrammatic sentences.

By the way, you wrote "it's validity" and I'm sure you meant to write "its validity". You need to be aware that "it's" is a contraction of the words "it is", and "its" is a possessive pronoun.

katdad · Feb 14, 2005

Punchy

maestrowork said:
I like sentence fragments. Punchy.

Me too. I use lots of them in my novels. Of course, I'm writing hardboiled American private detective stories, so snappy dialogue is a "requirement".

KellyS. · Feb 14, 2005

katdad said:
Yes, one-word dialogue sentences are all right. You may not like them, so you're free to avoid them in your writing, but modern dialogue has many "rule-breakers" and they are acceptable.

As to whether it's referred to as "colloquial", I doubt it. Normal, realistic dialogue doesn't have to be grammatically perfect. I'd put "colloquial" labels on things like "He shore got a purty mouth." Dialect, or sometimes ungrammatic sentences.

By the way, you wrote "it's validity" and I'm sure you meant to write "its validity". You need to be aware that "it's" is a contraction of the words "it is", and "its" is a possessive pronoun.

Yep, I'm aware, but obviously didn't check myself this time. lol I have a bad habit of wanting to put it there. Ty for pointing it out.
I think complete sentences were branded in my head in the sixth grade. I did stray from it a bit, especially during conversations, in my story. When I'm reading, unless I stumble, I don't normally notice the one word sentences. I started looking at the text instead of reading it. I noticed it a lot more. Thanks for your responses.

Mistook · Feb 14, 2005

For instance: That tree is big. Huge.

Technically, that's not a sentence fragment. In the one word sentence "Huge." The subject is understood to be "That tree".

Deleted member 42 · Feb 14, 2005

Keep in mind that what most people learn in school about writing is directed almost exclusively to "academic writing," which means, papers that will be graded.

A lot of what we learn in school may not apply to other kinds of writing. Yes, grammar, syntax, and style are very important, but the constraints on fiction or poetry or drama, and the audience expectations, are very different from those of academic writing.

Yes, you can have a single-word sentence; it's an effective stylistic tool.
Just don't forget that you have lots of other stylistic tools as well.

ElizabethJames · Feb 14, 2005

We bounce back and forth.

In the middle of the night? Fragments rock. By morning? Grrrrr. The pull for real sentences grabs our brain and slams us into prissy prose. Twelve hours later, back we go. Again. And again.

Wrote this last night:

Doesn't pause to think. Doesn't think to pray.

maestrowork · Feb 14, 2005

Medievalist said:
Just don't forget that you have lots of other stylistic tools as well.

What. Are. You. Saying?

ElizabethJames · Feb 14, 2005

Yes

pleasexplainyourselfwewanttoknowwhatyouhaveinmind

Birol · Feb 14, 2005

kelblend said:
I think complete sentences were branded in my head in the sixth grade.

You may have heard the axiom: You can't break the rules until you know the rules?

Well, complete sentences are one rule you've known since your school days. Feel free to break it now. If it serves your purpose.

Mistook · Feb 14, 2005

To phrase all the character dialogue in perfect grammar... that to me seems like breaking the rule of "Thou shalt not write stilted dialogue."

katdad · Feb 14, 2005

Sixth grade evils

kelblend said:
I think complete sentences were branded in my head in the sixth grade.

Me too. I learned cursive and the Palmer System and all that rot. As quickly as I could, I un-learned good penmanship (I was pre-med, after all) and rapidly began to scuff up any other 6th grade rules I'd been taught. Miss Kinnman be damned!

It took a while for me to learn that it was okay to use sentence fragments, begin sentences with "and", to bust up some other rigid rules of grammar. But as has been said here, you must know the rules before you can break them.

I have a bad habit of wanting to put it (apostrophes) there.

You may be suffering from IAS (Involuntary Apostrophe Syndrome). I'd have it checked out. ha ha

KellyS. · Feb 14, 2005

I wonder if my insurance would cover that. Doubt it. I guess I'm more stilted than I thought. I will definitely work on this and promise not to take it to new heights.

Now, if I could only get my son to quit saying keeped and calling people what, I would be a happy camper.

Ex: That girl what was on the bike.
Where on earth do they get these things??? Aaarrrghhh!!!

Fresie · Feb 15, 2005

It's so funny, you know. At the moment, my hubby and I are working on a translation of an action thriller from Dutch into English. The author (in Dutch) uses a lot of sentence fragments, and I mean a lot! If you see one complete sentence in a paragraph, you're lucky. But it really complements the style -- very punchy and full of tension. In Dutch it reads just fine! But in English, I constantly quarrel with my husband: just like Kelly, he hates sentence fragments and wants to change most of them to normal complete sentences in English. He argues (he's a linguist and translator, not a writer) that sentence fragments don't sound right in English. I, on the contrary, love fragments -- I use a lot in my own writing -- and want to stick to the text... I'm afraid, the resulting book will read sort of funny

Nateskate · Feb 15, 2005

Characters that don't talk too good.

I prefer some offbeat characters who don't talk too good. If you try to write how people speak, you will end up writing as improper as they speak. It's moments like this when I hate "Spell Checkers/Grammar Checkers".

"Leave my screwed up sentences alone!"

katdad · Feb 15, 2005

Translating

Fresie said:
At the moment, my hubby and I are working on a translation of an action thriller from Dutch into English.

I'm totally on your side in this. The use of sentence fragments and snappy style for a thriller is absolutely needed when creating the pace and tension of the book. To mis-translate this into fully formed English sentences is a disservice, and plain wrong.

If you want to consider difficulty, imagine the task facing translators who might try to create an Italian or German version of Joyce's "Ulysses" or "Finnegans Wake". Talk about Excedrin Headache #9,999!

Grammatical license?

KellyS.

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