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Athelstone replied to the topic Where Does Your Writing Inspiration Come From? in the forum Blogs 16 hours, 6 minutes ago
@sandradavies, yes indeed – transfer of information. The number of times I’ve come across a note I’ve scrawled down when all that’s left is an incomprehensible collection of words and a vague memory of myself thinking that I must find a way of using this brilliant insight. the very embodiment of having all the nuance but none of the original…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 3 days, 15 hours ago
Oddity Corner: accustom, verb, make someone or something accept (something) as normal. The other day, in my writing group, somebody came up with the phrase, “…as my eyes accustomed to the darkness.”
It immediately struck me as an odd phrase, but I was in a minority of one. I suppose my reaction is because I’m used to seeing accustomed as part…[Read more]
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I don’t think it has a problem though it perhaps sounds old fashioned, which could be the intention. In a contemporary story I’d be more likely to say, ‘As my eyes adapted to …’.
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But I think there could be a grammar question in there, Ath. This is where I show my uncertainties about active v passive but accustomed on its own is active. In a compound with an auxiliary verb it’s more passive I think. ‘My eyes became accustomed.’ The OED says, ‘In passive use sometimes approaching the stative adjective; cf. accustomed adj.’
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My eyes opened to darkness.
My eyes were opened to darkness.-
In which ‘opened to darkness’ is adjectival. Sometimes you want a straightforward active verb and sometimes you don’t.
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I’ll stay sitting on this fence 🙂
And I’ll chuck in a quote. ‘The ear is not accustomed to exercise constantly its functions of hearing, it is accustomed to stillness.’
J. Ruskin, Modern Painters vol. I. 60
Lucky Ruskin.
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It’s definitely not intended to be old-fashioned. A twisty modern tale.
The nearest support I have found to my position when searching the internet, is the statement that “accustomed to usually comes after linking verbs such as be, become, get, and grow”.
I suspect that part of the issue is that, as the OED suggests, there is an adjectival…[Read more]-
I wondered if the transitive quality of accustomed was playing a part but couldn’t get my head round whether it was or not. This is where my thin knowledge of grammar fails me. I’m also easily lost when having to consider how one word can fulfil different grammatical functions which might overlap.
With accustomed, maybe it comes down to how an…[Read more]-
In the end, voice is probably the most important thing. If the character or narrator would use a linking verb, there should be one included.
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I think that’s what bothered me the most. It’s far away from a commonplace way of speaking. I’ve had quite a few conversations over the last three score years and (well not quite) ten, and read a fair bit, and I’m pretty certain that this is the first time I’ve seen “accustomed” used in this way.
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Why I’m wasting my time puzzling and researching this, I don’t know. Actually I do. I’m about to start editing and at the same time I’m at a difficult point in the rewrite of a short story that’s insisting on growing towards novella length. In other words, prevarication.
Anyway, I think I have it:
1) Accustom is a transitive verb. It requires an…[Read more]-
No good asking me about grammar, so I can’t give a reason for it but while I had no hiccup over “My eyes accustomed to the darkness” I mentally inserted ‘themselves’ after accustomed.
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Which is to supply an object to the verb and make it grammatically correct.
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Thank you for sorting this out, Ath. It has made me think more carefully about verbs 🙂
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I think the importance for writers is that we need to demonstrate that we can follow the generally accepted grammatical conventions so that our work is publishable. There’s an awful lot of correct grammar that simply reflects how the posh mates of C19th lexicographers spoke and wrote and sets out that other ways are wrong.
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More often than not , i find if something you write or read stops you from moving forward then it probably could benefit from revision. depending on the surrounding context of the piece i would have probably written something like … As my eyes adjusted I negotiated the dark shadows with growing ease.
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Late to this, but maybe I’ll make up for that by the pungency of my comments. Even before your careful explanation six posts back, that phrase just sounded plain wrong to me, like a bum note in music. Just because you were in a minority of one doesn’t mean the others were right. To extend the musical analogy, it’s as if you’d been in a group of…[Read more]
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@purplewitch absolutely. I don’t think it will be an issue because the writer in question is quite sharp. Anyway, if it gets to the point where a 3rd party is giving it a professional read, it isn’t going to last.
@richardb yep, that analogy is about right. In this instance I wouldn’t say the author has cloth ears (although the others might, I…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Where Does Your Writing Inspiration Come From? in the forum Blogs 5 days, 7 hours ago
I have tried for years to get into the habit of using notebooks. Success has been limited. Yes, I can write and I know how to write in a notebook. I also know how to carry things, especially in pockets. I certainly have thoughts that I think, ‘Ooh, that would be good in a story’. If only I could get, carrying the notebook and writing in the…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 1 week, 4 days ago
OK. A question, dear denisons. Can an author writing for children in the under 10 range include murder in the story? I have a friend who’s a published author for older children and adults who has written a fine story (my guess is 7-12 yo with more sophisticated funny bits for any adults reading to their kids) but it includes a murder. Is this OK?…[Read more]
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Harry Potter has murder…
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Skulduggery Pleasant also has murder. In fact, if Amazon is anything to go by, there’s loads of murder out there.
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Thanks for that. Yes, my view was that it should be fine, but it does seem that the publishing world imposes rules for children’s books these days. I don’t want to get into a debate on the merits of these, but it’s important to know them as an author, if only to stop wasting time writing stuff that will never be published. In this particular case…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Comp April 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 weeks, 5 days ago
My route.
Life’s not so bad. Not anymore. Not now that I’ve got a job and a place to live. The job’s easy enough. I have a route and a barrow. I wheel the barrow to the start of the route and then I clear the rubbish along the whole of it. Some people here don’t manage it for long. They say it’s too tiring, or too boring, or we’re expected to…[Read more]
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Fabulous!
Which one?-
Thank you 🙂
Working title is “Thirty days”. Teabreak goes to a new town and finds his memories and experiences are broken. Is it a past life? Is it his current life? Mystery, romance, murder, and disastrous incompetence await him.-
Teabreak? Not what I was expecting to hear. Even more fabulous! 🙂
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It wasn’t orginally his story (a few years ago) but I was getting nowhere after 12,000 words, so I asked him if he’d mind it being about him. He generously stepped in as the MC and I began to enjoy it.
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Congrats, Ath. The pitch sounds good too.
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Thanks Libby. I was quite pleased with the pitch. Not thinking about it too hard seemed to work 🙂
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Being a bit Zen seems to be the way to approach them. Relaxed but focused? Though I’ve yet to achieve this with a pitch.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition March 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 weeks, 6 days ago
Great prompt, Terrie. Well done, Sea, absolutely well deserved. For my part it was fun to relax with a bit of 1960s -style pulp sci-fi 🙂
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition March 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 month, 1 week ago
The Leap
Before I knew what The Leap was, I thought it was magic. Like I thought magic was a real thing. Me and Cob and Dez and Piggy were all under ten years old. I mean, I didn’t know what a year was. That was an earth thing. Piggy was nine, and he said that a year was like four and a bit turns of the stars. Turns were an asteroid thing, a K…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – February 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Well done, @purplewitch. That was an excellent return to the monthly competition 🙂
Liked that prompt @pinkbelt. Super bunch of entries this month.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – February 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 months ago
The Return
Brenda’s dad died in 1983, so when he returned forty years later, it was a bit of a nuisance. Brenda woke up and went down to make a cup of tea. She was rather surprised to see him sitting in the kitchen looking out of the window.
‘You’ve let the garden go,’ he said without looking round. Then he did look round, and he added, ‘Bloody…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Reorganization And Declutteration (have I created a new word) in the forum Blogs 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Every year I aim to be organised (see Terrie above) and pick presents well in advance. The practice is different. I may not be quite as bad as the proverbial desparate man, the evening before, in the petrol station shop, but I’m cutting it close.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Reorganization And Declutteration (have I created a new word) in the forum Blogs 2 months, 2 weeks ago
By the way, ” I’ve even written my gift list for next year”. I believe this is actually against the law.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Reorganization And Declutteration (have I created a new word) in the forum Blogs 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Oh yes, prevaricating about the bush as Wallace refers to it. I do a great deal of that. Top tip. Every so often, copy the contents of that 1TB hard drive somewhere else as well. Whether that’s the Cloud (Dropbox, One Drive, Google Drive, Apple iCloud and so on) or another sleek 1TB hard drive. The day may come when your adorable cat decides the…[Read more]
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Squidge posted an update 2 months, 2 weeks ago
I always seem to come on here to apologize for not being here… Suffice to say that Life is a bit complicated and sad at the mo, and I’m not at my best. When I have the head space, I’ll be back.
Power to all of your pens in the meantime though 😉
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – January 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Well, what do you know? Three totally different old things.
Sandra, you brought a bit of Rembrandt’s brutal honesty in your piece. I’m not sure whether I was meant to but I chuckled along as I read this. It reminded me of the moment when I realised that my hands now resemble my own father’s as I remember them from years ago. It was an honest…[Read more]
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Wow. Never expected to win. My way of gently reintroducing myself. I’m dipping my toe back in so I’ll give it a go. Let me have a think and I’ll post a bit later.
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Athelstone posted an update 3 months, 1 week ago
Aha! I’m away at a writing weekend in Bournemouth! Still checking here and really happy to see the action. Must post soon.
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Athelstone started the topic Monthly Competition – January 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Last year I asked for up to 500 words on something new. This year it occurs to me that this is also the time of year when we look back. The topic is “something old”. Up to 500 of your finest however you wish.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – December 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Thanks Alex. We don’t get many entrants to the competition any more, so winning can be, if not a poison-chalice, a hot coffee-cup. Your prompt was perfect for Christmas and I had fun writing about it.
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Sorry I didn’t manage to do a story, Alex. I had work to finish, and it’s a busy time of year.
Congratulations, Ath. A lovely story, exactly right for the season.
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Athelstone posted an update 3 months, 4 weeks ago
A very happy, prosperous and successful New Year to all Denizens.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – December 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 4 months ago
Not sure what exactly is happening. Maybe old age is catching me up but I posted this already. There was an amusing intro about how it’s too long and how I’d have to take my chances. And so on. Anyway, it is too long (by loads), so I will have to take my chances.
The Stoggy
I’m a magical creature called a stoggy. Don’t get too excited bec…[Read more]
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