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Nov
25
Written by:
lucy@english-pro
11/25/2009 8:01 AM
Draw your mind back to your English lessons: dwell on all those dubious book choices you were dragged though and all the amazing novels you couldn’t wait to get to class to learn more about; remember all of those frustrating red marks scuttling across your essay; recall the fairly meaningless comment scrawled at the bottom of the creative paper you’d spend a week writing; consider the utter confusion you felt when your teacher tried to explain the difference between a comma and a semi-colon, when they quite clearly didn’t have a clue themselves (“a comma is where you take a breath”, “a semi-colon is where you take a longer breath or change the subject slightly . . . no, not like a full-stop” for Goodness sake!). Surely in all those years of English lessons we learnt something useful, something that sticks with us. Do you have a gem that you DO remember from your English lessons? Do you have a particularly wonderful/amusing English class story to share? What lesson do you remember and still apply religiously to your writing? Here you can read Kurt Vonnegut’s more appealing approach to writing – how does it differ from the approaches you were taught?
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4 comment(s) so far...
Re: Get it write!
Hey Lucy,
I struggle to remember that far back, but I do believe I fell in love with my 2nd grade teacher. I was 8 at the time and I guess she was hot. Of course 'being hot' wasn't a catch phrase at the time, but well, I was young and she taught me to read stuff. Charlotte's Web, then The Hobbit, and from then on I was hooked.
She made me write a poem once... So at the risk of boring everyone I'll share it. I have no idea why I remember it, but it's called SNOW.
Fluffy, feathery, powdery snow.
Drifting, shifting to and fro.
Swirling, twirling to the ground
Circling, tumbling without a sound.
Yes, totally sappy I know, and I have no idea why I still remember it.
So, let's get back on track here... In my 5+ novels I don't think I've ever used a colon or a semi-colon; but I guess its appropriate a few words ago. Isn't a period better? Wouldn't you, as an editor, lose the 'but' in the above and do a new sentence?
The hard part is commas - how the hell do you figure those out?
Take care and write on.... Good luck with the blog!
By Gregg Haugland on
11/25/2009 5:10 PM
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Re: Get it write!
Aww Gregg, that's a lovely poem: even more so with the story attached to it :)
I'd say I hope you kept writing as you clearly had a flare for it, but it would seem someone else suggested it a lot earlier and you already have!
I think punctuation is a very personal thing; by opting to never use colons or semi-colons I don't think you're wrong, you just use the punctuation you want to use to create your own unique style.
Does that mean, though that those marks should fall off the planet? I love punctuation and all the fun things you can do with it (OK, fun may not be exactly the word!). It's there to help us and if the marks you chose fit the bill, then why go hunting down more?
Thanks for joining in Gregg :)
By Ghostwriter on
11/27/2009 10:47 AM
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Re: Get it write!
OK, now that we're on the subject of poetry, I have one I'd like to share:
BEAUTY
Beauty can be many things, those things I cannot say,
For beauty in my point of view is living one more day.
Beauty can be something else to you or you or you,
But in my eyes it’s something, something that is true.
You may say its knowledge; he may say it’s not,
But beauty is the book of life, living out the plot.
Art can end in beauty, or it can crash and burn,
Beauty isn’t something that should make you twist and turn.
Beauty is two syllables, rhythm in my ear,
Every time I listen, beauty’s all I hear.
By Thomas Bertin on
11/27/2009 5:21 PM
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Re: Get it write!
OK, now that we're on the subject of poetry, I have one I'd like to share:
BEAUTY
Beauty can be many things, those things I cannot say,
For beauty in my point of view is living one more day.
Beauty can be something else to you or you or you,
But in my eyes it’s something, something that is true.
You may say its knowledge; he may say it’s not,
But beauty is the book of life, living out the plot.
Art can end in beauty, or it can crash and burn,
Beauty isn’t something that should make you twist and turn.
Beauty is two syllables, rhythm in my ear,
Every time I listen, beauty’s all I hear.
By Thomas Bertin on
11/27/2009 6:26 PM
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