tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post986595645960302015..comments2024-03-28T05:59:52.454-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: Superpowers of the grammatical subjectJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-33859562326533581412011-02-03T06:14:15.640-08:002011-02-03T06:14:15.640-08:00Elaine, thanks for the comment and the follow! I&#...Elaine, thanks for the comment and the follow! I've always loved the way linguistics makes me consider grammar from the "why" angle. And I'm glad you got the "Garmin's feet" visual! Thanks for making me smile.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-86519289283336702902011-02-03T00:40:54.766-08:002011-02-03T00:40:54.766-08:00This is a great post. I've spent so long excis...This is a great post. I've spent so long excising passive sentences it never occurred to me to consider why. Garmin's feet did the trick in one very funny visual. ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15459671422564355990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-91395776149427095982011-02-02T13:04:11.747-08:002011-02-02T13:04:11.747-08:00Thank you for the comment, Henya. This stuff is ba...Thank you for the comment, Henya. This stuff is basically impossible to make real without using concrete examples... I'm glad you found it helpful.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-80763511093210892422011-02-02T12:52:42.449-08:002011-02-02T12:52:42.449-08:00Juliette, a wealth of information. You did it agai...Juliette, a wealth of information. You did it again. It helps that you provide us with concrete examples of how the wording of a sentence can either grab or lose a reader.<br /><br />Thanks.Henyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14218132405687448085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-86711615267459168042011-01-31T15:59:38.295-08:002011-01-31T15:59:38.295-08:00Did I say help? I meant it can't hurt...Did I say help? I meant it can't hurt...Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-32211913511153154202011-01-31T15:36:44.128-08:002011-01-31T15:36:44.128-08:00Thank you so much, Carol. Indeed, I think we usual...Thank you so much, Carol. Indeed, I think we usually do this without thinking. It can't help to know why it seems weird when it seems weird, though.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-60910848130016761502011-01-31T14:44:39.929-08:002011-01-31T14:44:39.929-08:00Wow, good stuff! As usual. I think with practice, ...Wow, good stuff! As usual. I think with practice, a writer could learn to do this w/o even thinking much about it. I bet some writers have more of an innate talent for it, too.Carol Riggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14092209912983783974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-82236779563431428562011-01-31T09:58:26.447-08:002011-01-31T09:58:26.447-08:00Self-aware is what I meant. :-)Self-aware is what I meant. :-)Jamie Todd Rubinhttp://www.jamietoddrubin.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-28265272470208783642011-01-31T08:43:05.093-08:002011-01-31T08:43:05.093-08:00Oh and by the way, my intent is not to make anyone...Oh and by the way, my intent is not to make anyone "self-conscious," just self-aware!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-83290013493370678052011-01-31T08:37:23.351-08:002011-01-31T08:37:23.351-08:00Thanks for the comment, Jamie! I do think you'...Thanks for the comment, Jamie! I do think you're teleporting your reader into "I"'s head, but at the same time, "the learned astronomer" is what "I" is thinking about kissing, so he's going to have an important place too. He's in the object position, though, which has something of a different significance. We're much more likely to stand with "I" and feel external to "him."<br /><br />Thanks for your comments as well, Jaleh. I was working hard to make this one fun and clear as well as informative - glad I got it right for you.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-81056830904276804342011-01-31T07:26:59.796-08:002011-01-31T07:26:59.796-08:00Now I'm curious about that story, Jamie. That ...Now I'm curious about that story, Jamie. That sounds like a fascinating mix of consequences from a simple action. It sounds to me like the astronomer was important to the narrator just from that.<br /><br />And Juliette, I love the way you talk about the subject. Parapsychically simple when put like that. Hehe.Jaleh Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04942272578488986874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-21035275209528259792011-01-31T07:10:30.177-08:002011-01-31T07:10:30.177-08:00Another fascinating post, Juliette, and it is maki...Another fascinating post, Juliette, and it is making my more self-conscious about my own writing. I wonder if there is a corollary to what you have above that applies not just to the subject of a sentence or a paragraph, but to the <i>hook</i> of the story. I think back to the opening line of my first professional story (published at InterGalactic Medicine Show) which goes: "When I kissed the learned astronomer, I never expected to fall in love, discover intelligent alien life in the universe, and end up in jail."<br /><br />When I wrote that, I had it in my mind that the "learned astronomer" was the really interesting part of the story, this person who had such a life-changing influence on the narrator (I). But after reading your post, I'm not so sure. Did I teleport the reader into the first person narrator and the learned astronomer was secondary?<br /><br />It has me thinking about the opening paragraph of a new story I wrote yesterday as well, and I don't have it in front of me to look at and re-read in light of the superpowers of the grammatical subject. But you can be sure I'll do it when I get home. :-)Jamie Todd Rubinhttp://www.jamietoddrubin.comnoreply@blogger.com