Non-verbal communication and establishing characters through creative grammar? Or… something…

SO, this is something I get a lot of crap for at times. People learn the rules of grammar, but they don’t understand the application. In academic writing, yes, follow the rules strictly. But when it comes to creative writing, grammar takes on a separate role. This is something a few authors have discussed. I’m not sure how popular the school of thought is but I embrace it.

Grammar is used to represent non-explicit moments. For example, I put a comma right here (after “For example”) so that you know to take a pause. The reader can see that and think Oh, clause over. This section tells me the following statement is just an example and not necessarily anything more. The comma also separates clauses. This is independent clause A, (pause) and this is independent clause B. What’s the point? The comma indicates the relationship of the statements around it. But, it also creates a pause (like a breath or bow-lift mark, for those who are musically inclined).

What does this have to do with non-verbal communication in creative writing? you can use the comma to emphasize where a character takes a beat. The character could say “This is cool, but there are a few structural issues and it may not funnel energy properly.” Or, he might say “This is cool but, there are a few structural issues and it may not funnel energy properly.” In the first version, the two clauses feel equally important. They have the same emphasis they would as two separate sentences. By shifting the comma, you move all of the emphasis to “but.” In essence you are saying “Clause A is relevant but, clause b is more important.”

There are more common practices for this. Generally, you would see “Clause A… but, clause B.” maintaining the clauses’ unique emphatics but, also rendering the conjunction ultimately purposeless and redundant at best. The way I have seen which I like is “Clause A, but… clause B.” This puts the most emphasis on the conjunction by utilizing the comma at the end of clause A to show a beat and adding ellipses to show that there is a moment of thought or reflection going into clause B.

Why do I just use the comma? Well, I suppose it’s a mild influence from the way Brits speak. “Clause A but, Clause B.” is similar to “Clause A but… Clause B.” The difference being the amount of pause. In the latter, the speaker is saying that they have a point to make that they need a moment to think on (for wording, emotion, whatever reason). Conversely, the former says that speaker has a counterpoint to the first point and they want you to pay attention to it. It’s like a way of killing the confirmation bias (Where the partner would hear clause A agreeing with them and disregard clause B).

Is it grammatically correct? No. But, it’s another way of establishing speech patterns, internal thinking, and general character. Is there a perfect way to prescribe and use this style? Not really. The grammatically correct thing to do would be to put ellipses there. The problem is, if you have a character who does this a lot, you get ellipses all over the place and, (pauses after conjunction, not before) that’s just as a bad as the comma machine gun. Using this in addition to ellipses would cut back on both of those problems and still express the character. 

You may disagree. I wouldn’t blame you. But, I don’t care. This is just something I’ve heard about and tried to apply in places. It’s interesting at the very least. Anyway, here are some general communication guidelines

“( )” – clauses in parentheses are not relevant to the story and are generally directed at the reader. These come up mostly in first person or narrated stories.

“- -” – clauses between hyphens are asides that are not necessarily relevant, though they can be. More importantly, these clauses should be used for flavor or character expression (IE, alternate phrasing for what the character just said.)

“, ,” – the stuff in between two commas, as you should know, is most commonly a dependent clause. There are too many possible uses to list here. Just don’t abuse them! (It’s my problem too)

 

There are more but, this is the stuff I’m talking about so… (different version of this) that’s that! Like, comment. Let me know if you agree with this idea or not. Who enjoyed the grammar stuff? Am I the only massive nerd?

Later all
‘Trick

Confessions of a Boring Man – a game, an experiment, and a study

I want to get some serious active commenting from those who read. IF YOU READ THIS POST, PLEASE COMMENT. Even if you have nothing to say, just comment a smile or a frown or something. I’m going to compile some data on this. I want to know WHO is reading my stuff so I can spend some time crafting more fun interactions. I want to know WHEN people are reading so I can make sure to post during busy hours. And lastly, I will take one or more of the ideas and create another post with several flash fictions or a single short story about this character and his secret life. (And you should too!)

• I don’t go outside unless I’m travelling to another indoor location
• I don’t “hang out” with people. I only focus on my work
• I would never drink, smoke, or break any laws.
• I have a dog named Cat and a cat named Dog. I thought that was the funniest thing ever when I thought of it.
• You could call me a professional penny-pincher.

 

So, tell me about this guys secret life. Is he a bank robber, a super hero? Does he work for a private organization? Is he God? Feel free to post your own story about him! The important thing is that if this guy were to own this blog, he would say any of the bulleted statements.

 

I wonder how this is going to turn out.

A Speech, I guess? *Unedited*

I saw Taking Back Sunday on the strip a few weeks ago and took lots of film and still photography. The whole scene gave me a lot of inspiration to write a short story about an anarchic culture that unites under a single cause against an oppressive government. This is just one possible speech from who might be a leader or a radio DJ or something. Obviously, the concept is very fluid. But as I review the footage,  I get the vibe of impending chaos in a dark dystopia.

Here ya go. Feel free to give it love or hate, just some stream-of-consciousness-what-am-I-going-for-with-this? writing.

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For, those who don’t quite fit, those who have a different idea of cool, of style, of what it means to be alive… they are those who have seen the truth, who follow the way. Righteousness is not found in the herd but in the shepherd. Beauty is not in the many, but in the few. If you are the reject, if you are the misfit, if you are the one who has to search for a reason to live in this world, congratulations. You have seen through the charade; you know that things are not what they could, should be. If you defy convention, you have my power. If you spit in the face of society, you have my courage. If you follow your heart, you have my spirit. If you put faith in humanity, you have my naiveté. If you break the mold, you have my respect. They say unique does not equate to worthy. In fact, history has shown us the opposite. Whether full of love or full of hate, the people remembered are not the masses; they are the ones who took on the impossible and won, the ones who dared to oppose normality. If you are one of the sheep, if you are one of the people whose heart is bound to your wallet, whose happiness is contingent on the material, if you are the one who asks “why?” when you could instead ask “Why not?” then you can rest assured that your life is devoid of meaning and significance. You can rest assured that you will struggle and strain in your attempts to measure up to what is expected of anyone vaguely similar to you. You can rest assured that those you shun would rather die than become you. You can rest. And you can know that you will never have to worry about me, as I walk the path that can only be understood by those who seek it. This world does not belong to the many, it belongs to the few. Why, then, strive to assimilate when you can strive to create? Why, then, seek that singular goal that so many seek when you can follow your truest dream? 

They will tell you that your head is in the clouds. They will tell you to come to reality, to see the world as it is. I do see the world as it is. And that’s precisely why I see the world as it could be, as it should be. I will not bow down when I should oppose. I will not accept what I should change. I will not follow where I should lead, even if I only ever lead myself. I will never cease to wonder how the majority can be what it is. I will never cease to argue with the conventions of the world. I will never accept the mainstream monolith and the message of pop icons. I will not allow myself to fall into the trap of complacence. For I believe in the ideal, not the idol.

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Cheers,
‘Trick

Excerpt from the Testimony of “Warlock” *UNEDITED FLASH FICTION*

You tend to hear a lot about living in the “real” world. You tend to be told that success is determined in a specific way, using specific measurements, based on specific criteria. As someone who lived in that world for the better part of century, I can tell you those people are wrong. Success is not a universal standard and it truly stands immeasurable. Through this book, this vade mecum, I have learned that success is entirely internal, a measure of your current self against your former self. If you seek success beyond that, you have blinded yourself to the way.

I thought the world knew the truth. I thought society was right. I thought my ideas may have been backwards… until I discovered this book. This soulful collection of paper, bound in hard black leather. The words in this book seem to float around me when I read from it. I’m not always sure if this book, this vade mecum has claimed my sanity. Only in pure fiction can the words you read become reality. Only in fable do men bend the rules of the world to their will. Only in fantasy do those men maintain secrecy.

But I do live in this unfortunately real world. This book grants me the power of Legends and it never leaves my side. This satchel carries within it the thing that separates me from that world of reality. For when you see blight so perilous, with a smell so foul as to choke all five of your senses and a face so vile that you can only pray this is a dream… in that same moment, I can step up. In that crucial desperate time when all men cling to hope and beg their Gods for mercy, this book, this vade mecum chooses me to oppose such threats.

At first, I turned to the gun for a solution.  But the book would not afford me such indignant death as suicide.  So, I turned to the sword, hoping to temper myself into as finely honed an edge as the blade I would wield. This too, fell short of the book’s measure of success. But when I finally read from the book a passage that had not been which suddenly became, I understood. The powers of the greatest gods and men of history lie within the pages of this book, this vade mecum. It has chosen me to be the dignitary of combat against that which threatens the complacent realities of men, women, and children. I have been given the “divine right” to stop such horrors as I have.

Now you persecute me for my actions. But without those actions, not one of you would remain. There would be no one left to persecute and no one left to take on the role of persecutor.  I merely recited a passage which allowed the annihilating fires to overtake the beast. I saved a city at the cost of a block. Not one among you would have had the courage to make such a decision! Not one of you seems to grasp that a thousand lives saved millions!  What’s worse still, not one of you believes that this power came from this book, this vade mecum. If I could dispose of my responsibility to guard the book and the world, believe me… I would abandon you all and return my lips to the barrel of that .45-caliber snub nose.

But, the book must be with me and I may not die until the world is truly safe.  Imprison me if you must; I would understand the vote to convict. The lives of those lost in that horrific battle are my responsibility and immeasurable burden to bear. But if you think a prison will hold me when the next hellspawn breaks free from the deepest reaches of the dimensions of negative space… I will stop that threat as well. This book, this vade mecum will succeed again, and you will thank me for being the leash that guides the legend, the hand that beckons the power of Gods.

I don’t want the power or responsibility of this book, this vade mecum. But, as long as the book chooses to go with me, I will carry out my duty as defender of this realm. And you will never be able to stop me from saving this planet. Like it or not, my sole duty is to protect you. And I will.

Nefelibata

As I wandered through the continent, I began to lose track of borders, of languages, of all things except the culture of whatever place in which I would turn up. The most outstanding interaction I had: I met a band of rapscallions, tan of skin, gentle of heart, and fiery of soul. During my short period travelling with them, they referred to me as “nefelibata.”

“What does it mean?” I implored the leader of the rogues.

“Nefelibata is the man who walks on clouds.”

“Uhh… we all walk on the ground.”

“No!” he snapped. Burning passion gleamed in his chestnut eyes. “It means you are the one who is not bound by the rules of this world. He who has forged his own path in mind, body, and spirit, he who has forsaken a common life to become uncommon, he whom, without a second thought, abandoned all the trappings and comforts of complacence to seek a higher realm of understanding, a higher level of truth, and a life that few could survive, let alone embrace… He is the one we call the cloud walker.”

The highest honor I have known came from a group of bandits, who did nothing more than call me as I am. Nefelibata, he who lives his dreams.