Syntax

[Chris Dutton]

To boldly go, or to go boldly. I might add splitting infinitives to this.

Does syntax matter, as long as it's correct within the context?

A long time ago, I was at a book signing where David gemmell was waxing lyrical, or lyrically waxing, about the pains that Terry pratchett went to on getting his sentence structure straight.

On a writing forum, I thought it may be an interesting discussion!

[moderntimes]

Slightly altering syntax to make a sentence more interesting is perfectly okay. Thankfully the English language is flexible enough to allow these small departures from rigid structure.

I'll take a glance over my latest novel and see if I can post a couple of examples.

[zeldas_lullaby]

You know what drives me crazy? Try and.

"I want to try and get the laundry done tonight."

No, you want to try TO get it done. AAARGH.

Every time I watch Diagnosis Murder, my favorite show, they say it wrong and it's almost physically painful. The whole time I was enjoying the first Mara Dyer book by Michelle Hodkin, it just wore away at me.

(Does that qualify as syntax?)

[moderntimes]

I alter syntax and punctuation all the time to adjust the rhythm of the sentence. Here's from my new novel (a modern mystery):

"Then the stench and blasphemy and evil overtook me and I turned quickly, out the apartment door, choking, spitting up anything in my stomach onto the little lawn."
and
"Hunched over and dizzy, I eventually regained my balance, deep breathing until I was fairly certain I wouldn’t simply run down the street screaming, continue running and screaming until I was spent, spent of energy and spent of the sordid life in which I found myself this day."

If you read these 2 sentences, especially aloud, you can see how I've used commas and a slight tweak of run-on construction to increase the tension and show the panic of the narrator.

I do this sort of stuff all the time in my novels. What you can't do is overuse these techniques or they'll become trite and pushy.

[044hnoor]

"I want to try and get the laundry done tonight."
No, you want to try TO get it done. AAARGH.


______________
NOOR

[CataclysmicKnight]

Poetic license extends beyond poetry as long as it flows and gets your point across, it works in my book! Even the proper language can stumble a reader.

[moderntimes]

Well, yes, poetic license is one thing, but it's no license for bad English.

[CataclysmicKnight]

Well, yes, poetic license is one thing, but it's no license for bad English.

Agreed, bad grammar causes me to stumble so it fails there have been a handful of times that people use some technically incorrect grammar that still flows, though and I can still get behind that. Or when a character speaks with improper grammar because it's realistic

[moderntimes]

Well, of course. Some of my characters use bad grammar. What's essential in writing dialogue however is that you not fall into stereotypes where certain "bad guys" sound like a poorly written 50s gangster movie. Same for ethnic slang or similar types of variation. It has to sound acceptable to the ear. I think that realistic dialogue is the heartbeat of any modern fiction and if it's not meticulously constructed, it brings the narrative to a screeching halt.

We all may use incorrect English if we're deliberately using slang or an idiom, or course.