Fun With Grammar

After posting several months about the days of the week housewives traditionally did specific chores, I decided it was time for lighter fare. Below are some humorous takes on a few weird aspects of English grammar.

Out-takes

During my last critique group meeting, one of my fellow writers had written a beautiful paragraph that some of us thought wasn’t right for the piece he submitted. I told him to save what he had written. That it might work better in a future story.

This prompted a lively discussion of “out-takes,” some members of our group saying they simply deleted unwanted copy, others saying they kept a file of temporarily unusable verbiage but rarely referred to it.

I keep an out-take file for every major piece I am writing, and I do check them from time to time, especially when I experience a serious case of writer’s block. On a few occasions I found exactly what I needed. Many times I wasn’t able to use what I had saved, but reading what I had written stimulated my brain, leading me to write something that did fit. Other times I left empty-handed.

We writers often fall in love with what we write and don’t want to let it fall victim to the delete key. I have been guilty of wasting precious time, trying to find a place for something I thought was “brilliant.” J My out-take files allow me to save these little gems, writing which I may read later and ask myself, “What was I thinking?”

My advice is don't force feed your writing. You probably will change a lot of things before you are finished, and trying to work your story around a favorite paragraph or two can kill your progress.

Cats and Commas

What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?

One has claws at the end of its paws, and the other is a pause at the end of a clause.

The Name Game

Naming characters isn't easy, and yet the names we choose can make or break our stories. An oft-used example is Pansy, the saccharine name Margaret Mitchell almost gave her cunning, provocative heroine.

While I was writing Brute Heart, a novel set in Oregon, I found names for every one of my characters, major or minor, first name and last name, on a map of Oregon. I was amazed at the rich storehouse of names on that map--cities, towns, wide spots in the road, parks, counties, and countless topographical features. Some of the names I used were Riley (a small town), Dusty (Dusty Canyon), Cooper (Cooper Mountain), Jordan (Jordan Valley), Annie (Annie Springs), and Jude (Jude Lake).

Take a look at a map of your own state. If you don't find names for your characters there, get a detailed map of Oregon, a state that has a penchant for unusual names such as Boring, Shedd, Bakeoven, and Drain (all small towns).