tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post725998135466337946..comments2024-03-17T06:03:00.362-04:00Comments on Fiction University: I Had to Do This: Clarifying Ambiguous PronounsJanice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-42320819109379061972022-01-30T16:17:35.553-05:002022-01-30T16:17:35.553-05:00Ha! :) As for "his pockets". :)
English ...Ha! :) As for "his pockets". :)<br />English is much richer than my mother tongue (which is Croatian, btw), and I always emphasize that. But there are a few situations in which we have more words for something! :) HIS pockets, in this case. ;) In Croatian, there are two pronouns you can use to say "his", and depending on which one you use, it is clear whose pockets you mean (Gary or Bob).Vanesa Ujcicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-22647222410510531122020-06-29T06:06:54.814-04:002020-06-29T06:06:54.814-04:00Ok, thanks! :)Ok, thanks! :)Sasha Andersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-20329565089969810402020-06-28T08:07:11.476-04:002020-06-28T08:07:11.476-04:00I don't think so, because the example is used ...I don't think so, because the example is used as a pronoun to refer to something previously mentioned, while "It was raining" refers to a concept or idea. "It wasn't enough" means something just mentioned wasn't enough. "It was raining" means rain is falling from the sky. <br /><br />I'm sure someone with an English degree can explain that better, but hopefully that helps :) Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-86244812889290768382020-06-26T06:16:15.845-04:002020-06-26T06:16:15.845-04:00Couldn't the 'It' in the first example...Couldn't the 'It' in the first example also be the same 'It' found in 'It was raining'? I don't know what the technical term for that is...Sasha Andersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-21371279617430995712011-09-08T18:15:05.221-04:002011-09-08T18:15:05.221-04:00Great post and comments, thx: It will help me reco...Great post and comments, thx: It will help me recognize this failing I have.Jeff Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00667419764890599092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-28668517055172015312011-09-08T08:07:53.751-04:002011-09-08T08:07:53.751-04:00Thanks all!
Angie, that's awesome, thanks for...Thanks all!<br /><br />Angie, that's awesome, thanks for letting me know. I'll have a smile all day from that.<br /><br />Stephsco, good advice there. <br /><br />Norman, LOL thanks for that! Yep, you could totally read it that way. That makes a good point in itself really. Readers will attribute the pronoun to the closest and most obvious, but things can go all kinds of ways. I'll have to edit that now :)Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-43953937422678015302011-09-08T00:45:30.203-04:002011-09-08T00:45:30.203-04:00Hey Janice. It's been a while since I've p...Hey Janice. It's been a while since I've posted a comment, but I've had some problems with this in the past. <br /><br />I also found one of your correction sentences to include a confusing pronoun. I wonder if you caught it?<br /><br />This is the sentence...<br /> "Get to the car!" Bob screamed, reloading the shotgun while Gary dug into his pockets for the keys. Bob tripped and went flying, slamming against the dirt with a grunt.<br /><br />Who's pockets did Gary dig into? Was it his own pockets or Bob's? Funny right?Normanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11876944702052352983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-89592343357015775562011-09-07T16:38:23.809-04:002011-09-07T16:38:23.809-04:00@ColinF I think sometimes dialogue helps to mix in...@ColinF I think sometimes dialogue helps to mix in with a lot of description. At my critique group there's a story that's very action oriented, but the author tends to describe every motion. The feedback has been for him to choose pertient action details rather than every detail, which inevitably leads to a lot of pronouns and confusing directions of body parts. This is an extreme example, but I think it helps to break up action into smaller chunks and focus on making each line stand out.Stephscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-69942865836884873222011-09-07T12:31:12.033-04:002011-09-07T12:31:12.033-04:00Not relative to your post at all but I wanted you ...Not relative to your post at all but I wanted you to know. My son finished The Shifter and LOVED it. He came home from school and said, "Where is the next one, Mom?" So we had to go and buy Blue Fire. If Darkfall would have been out he would have wanted that too. I guess we will pre-order on Amazon :)Angela Cothranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09243582290698922119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-72972754286169318162011-09-07T12:02:41.075-04:002011-09-07T12:02:41.075-04:00I find I catch a lot of these on my re-reads but n...I find I catch a lot of these on my re-reads but never all. Good fix suggestions. Thanks.LD Mastersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01202135756299574972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-6730746105131691902011-09-07T08:07:55.610-04:002011-09-07T08:07:55.610-04:00Good post! Critique buddies help a bunch with this...Good post! Critique buddies help a bunch with this one.Kathryn Elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16112741861843306231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-24111533047317051132010-05-18T08:31:00.104-04:002010-05-18T08:31:00.104-04:00This is a very, very tricky problem. The examples ...This is a very, very tricky problem. The examples you listed are the easy ones. I've read some books ... actually, a lot of books where this "It" problem shows up, and in those instances I try re-writing the sentence. I fail at it :(Glen Akinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09647296775230237162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-37191489619122332522010-05-17T08:51:54.701-04:002010-05-17T08:51:54.701-04:00Thanks! It's more fun that way. Otherwise it&#...Thanks! It's more fun that way. Otherwise it's just me babbling on about stuff and who wants to read that? LOL.Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-72470983645520771382010-05-07T16:22:24.218-04:002010-05-07T16:22:24.218-04:00Hey Janice, thanks for the edit! Those suggestions...Hey Janice, thanks for the edit! Those suggestions will really help. Btw, I appreciate the personal touch you have with your blog.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05799582651005924816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-67231716652875653382010-05-07T09:52:01.088-04:002010-05-07T09:52:01.088-04:00Colin, I'll edit and show what I'd do to f...Colin, I'll edit and show what I'd do to fix them :)Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-32579677374827590752010-05-07T03:13:14.257-04:002010-05-07T03:13:14.257-04:00Good post. Very useful >:)
Cold As HeavenGood post. Very useful >:)<br /><br /><a href="http://cold-as-heaven.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Cold As Heaven </a>CA Heavenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07558100567878233142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-34613616837156960452010-05-07T03:02:15.807-04:002010-05-07T03:02:15.807-04:00Using vague pronouns is probably my worst writing ...Using vague pronouns is probably my worst writing habit, well, that and always writing in present tense. After I get a scene down I have to go back and conjugate everything into past tense, then go through again and fix my pronouns. My first draft is usually nothing more than "She said" and "He went".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-65177174736606657602010-05-07T02:53:47.997-04:002010-05-07T02:53:47.997-04:00I'm probably guilty of using vague pronouns fr...I'm probably guilty of using vague pronouns from time to time but I try not to. It is quite intrusive to the story when you have to stop and figure out what 'it' actually is before you can move on.<br />Thanks for an interesting point and some good examples.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-55938523609362412422010-05-06T16:21:10.297-04:002010-05-06T16:21:10.297-04:00I'm currently fighting this problem in my WiPs...I'm currently fighting this problem in my WiPs. Fixing it can be as simple as changing the pronoun to a noun, or it might require restructuring a sentence (or paragraph).Carradeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-77299313947302922732010-05-06T13:20:17.939-04:002010-05-06T13:20:17.939-04:00I'm curious what your fixes for these would be...I'm curious what your fixes for these would be. This is a common issue for me as I'm sure it is for many people, but my problem is making the sentence more clear without doing things like using the characters name in every sentence, or just reusing the same word over and over again to refer to something.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05799582651005924816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-49725474946168802282010-05-06T12:33:04.151-04:002010-05-06T12:33:04.151-04:00Good examples. I try to catch them but occasionall...Good examples. I try to catch them but occasionally I need my critique partner to catch them.Natalie Aguirrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03756087804171246660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-81822109658340204092010-05-06T10:11:43.587-04:002010-05-06T10:11:43.587-04:00These are the things I can pick up in my CPs stuff...These are the things I can pick up in my CPs stuff, but they still sneak into my own writing. I think a lot of times it's because I move sentences around for flow, and those pesky pronouns protest.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-64446482327375468952010-05-05T22:29:37.991-04:002010-05-05T22:29:37.991-04:00In your first example, "it" could also r...In your first example, "it" could also refer to all of Bob's actions in the first sentence. As in, his effort was not enough. I think it's a good example of ambiguity. Good stuff to point out.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-24425508569673153872010-05-05T21:09:37.999-04:002010-05-05T21:09:37.999-04:00Thank you. I'm sure I've been mindful of t...Thank you. I'm sure I've been mindful of the pronouns, but these descriptions put it into perspective. (Hugs)IndigoSage Ravenwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17143502548162174269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-28803417238698045982010-05-05T20:17:07.387-04:002010-05-05T20:17:07.387-04:00Yep, you definitely have to watch out for these. A...Yep, you definitely have to watch out for these. Another great post :)Jaydee Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01069805915071090479noreply@blogger.com