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Post by Frank Creed on May 5, 2008 10:41:06 GMT -5
A Frank Rant on the Rules of Writing The books I’ve read on how-to-write-fiction dwell entirely too much on the old cliché: the only rule to writing is that there are no rules. Poppycock. This is confusing, and on the surface, inaccurate. What it means is in the process of finding one’s voice, one must learn the rules of writing so one knows when to break the rules. If the Boss has gifted you with a proprietary literary eye, I’ve never found a good writer who can’t master the craft with the following critique-key. These are the most common points of criticism I find in evaluating manuscripts for thefinishers.biz. Cliché Weak Verbage Point of View Qualifiers Punctuation overuse Telling not Showing Cognitive or Sensory usage The above points are discussed in full in the May ’08 issue of The UNDERGROUND newsletter. To subscribe either send me your email address or go to the sign up page at Frank Creed.com. |
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Post by debkinnard on May 5, 2008 17:55:14 GMT -5
IMO, you've forgotten one of the points some early-writers haven't mastered before they sit down to type the Great American Novel:
Inability to write a coherent English sentence.
I sometimes serve as a judge in contests. You'd be amazed at how many entries have me scratching my head and saying, "Whaaaa--??"
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cyn
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Post by cyn on May 6, 2008 8:50:43 GMT -5
Ouch. That would be a problem indeed.
My biggest challenge as an editor was a book that I had to essentially rewrite for the "authors." They had all the information in their heads, but when it came to communicating it in written form they had difficulty.
I often spent a half hour or more in deep concentration on one paragraph -- talk about incoherent. Trying to decipher their intent, paragraph by paragraph, before rewriting was a big challenge.
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Post by Frank Creed on May 7, 2008 8:09:53 GMT -5
My list is for people have been writing for years. I'd have far more basic codes to work with folks at the beginning of their writer's sojourn. Cyn and I have discussed a book of real ESL letters from an asian character mailed to big companies, and the responses they ilicit. Dear Wendys-- Why you no have sushi on menu? ETC.  Faith, f |
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cyn
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Post by cyn on May 7, 2008 17:37:24 GMT -5
FRANK! You are a bad bad boy.  |
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Post by debkinnard on May 7, 2008 19:21:45 GMT -5
Must I confess? I love ESL letters and particularly those "instructions" you sometimes get in packages when you buy an item that must be assembled. Clearly written by individuals whose grip on English isn't as firm as they believe.
There's also a web site which has Chinese signposts and advertising billboard that someone has attempted (I'll use the term advisedly) to translate into English for the benefit of tourists. They're hilarious.
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cyn
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Post by cyn on May 7, 2008 22:05:23 GMT -5
In preparation for the Olympics . . .
"Already, the city has replaced 6,300 road signs that carried bewildering admonitions such as: "To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty." (Translation: Be careful, slippery.) Replacing signs will cost the city a substantial amount of money, although it isn't clear how much. Some of the faulty ones, Prof. Chen notes, are decades old and are carved in marble."
"Deformed Man," outside toilets for the handicapped
"Show Mercy to the Slender Grass" on park lawns
These are pretty funny. But, I'm with Deb, I love instructions.
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Post by Caprice on May 9, 2008 17:31:55 GMT -5
I only love instructions when I can figure out the installation/assembly by myself. If I'm truly having trouble (which is why you'd actually consult the instructions, right?) then I get miffed if I can't decipher the instructions. What's worse is having to call for help and getting a technical assistance person who either can't understand me or whose English is so broken or heavily accented that I can't understand THEM. Amazing how these foreign products can get the outside of the package done perectly for marketing, but then the translator doesn't have time to do the nitty-gritty.
Deb, where's that website? Sounds like a good laugh.
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Post by debkinnard on May 9, 2008 20:57:31 GMT -5
The most comprehensive I've found so far is a blog: www.chinglish.de/ This is obviously collected by an avid "mistranslation" fan. Don't you find wild-eyed fans some of the world's best people? LOL. You have to scroll down & read through--particularly some menu items that may knock your socks off. They sure did mine! |
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Post by gracebridges on Jul 23, 2008 16:37:04 GMT -5
I can't stand it when words get mixed up with phonetic partners... such as:
- baited breath (bated)
- torturous (tortuous)
- grizzly (grisly)
- nerve-racking (wracking)
- peak (peek)
- peak (pique)
Yeah so it sounds the same. Doesn't mean it is though!
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cyn
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Post by cyn on Jul 23, 2008 19:33:51 GMT -5
Grace has hit upon the issue Frank has with his voice-activated software: not really a glitch but it doesn't recognize the nuances in the language.
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