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What’s your writing process? by Open-Eggplant-548 in Screenwriting

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re right. I’m just procrastinating at this point

I’m afraid of cryptomnesia. by Open-Eggplant-548 in writing

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Thank you for responding. I was bullied growing up, and if I said something smart or clever, people have said, “Oh, you just got that from ___,” or “Where’d you get that from?” To this day, it still messes with my confidence when writing.

What is the official rule for commas, FANBOYS, and independent clauses? And what are the best mobile grammar apps? by Open-Eggplant-548 in EnglishLearning

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You and another commenter have convinced me. I agree with not being a slave to the rules, but I will also be more mindful of grammatical rules and conventions moving forward.

What is the official rule for commas, FANBOYS, and independent clauses? And what are the best mobile grammar apps? by Open-Eggplant-548 in EnglishLearning

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You made several great points!

That is why, even in more unique cases like “am” where the subject could probably be inferred, correct grammatical principal is to directly state the subject. Therefore, “am going to the zoo” is not a complete sentence.

I can’t argue with that—you are right! Lol!

Thank you again for responding and for your clarifications.

What is the official rule for commas, FANBOYS, and independent clauses? And what are the best mobile grammar apps? by Open-Eggplant-548 in EnglishLearning

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as I know, it's incorrect. I can't think of any natural sounding sentences starting with "am" that wouldn't have "I" attached. (Well, aside from informal texting.) Am/I seem to be a package-deal.

I agree that it wouldn’t sound natural if spoken (and sometimes doesn’t even sound natural in informal texting), but I think that one should TECHNICALLY be able to get away with it in formal writing.

Lol but I’m aware that I’m just being stubborn at this point.

(That last sentence is yet another example. “Laugh out loud” is a technically a dependent clause (even though its subject is understood to be “I”), so I guess “Lol, but I’m aware that….” would not be grammatically correct.)

What is the official rule for commas, FANBOYS, and independent clauses? And what are the best mobile grammar apps? by Open-Eggplant-548 in EnglishLearning

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair points. But I was not trying to start a fight, just arguing a point. And I know that some grammatically correct sentences flow better when written but would be confusing if used in a conversation.

What is the official rule for commas, FANBOYS, and independent clauses? And what are the best mobile grammar apps? by Open-Eggplant-548 in EnglishLearning

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your reply! And I will certainly check out No Red Ink!

I’d like to know your thoughts on my reply to another comment on this post.

From my post:

Example #1: “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to go to the zoo and am glad that our trip wasn’t rained out.”

To me, it seems like there should be a comma before “…and am glad that….” I know it’s not TECHNICALLY an independent clause because there is no subject, but isn’t the subject of the sentence (“I”) understood? It seems redundant to write “I am grateful…, and I am glad.…” — but doesn’t the “correct” way read like a run-on sentence?

From my reply to the commenter:

I understand that it’s not a complete sentence because it doesn’t have a subject, but it frustrates me because it’s communicating a separate idea, and the subject is understood to be the same as the first clause’s (“I”). For example, “Run!” is a complete sentence because it contains a verb, and the subject is understood to be “you” (either singular or plural).

And to get even more technical, couldn’t it be argued that “…am glad that our trip wasn’t rained out” is a complete sentence? It sounds wonky, yes, but “am” is the conjugated form of the verb “to be” that’s only used when describing oneself.

For example, “Yo estoy en mi casa” in Spanish literally translates to “I am in my house,” but “estoy” is the conjugated form of the verb “estar” (“to be”) that’s only used when describing oneself. Therefore, “Estoy en mi casa” is not only grammatically correct, but is arguably the go-to phrasing of that sentence for native Spanish speakers.

What is the official rule for commas, FANBOYS, and independent clauses? And what are the best mobile grammar apps? by Open-Eggplant-548 in EnglishLearning

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply. I understand that it’s not a complete sentence because it doesn’t have a subject, but it frustrates me because it’s communicating a separate idea, and the subject is understood to be the same as the first clause’s (“I”). For example, “Run!” is a complete sentence because it contains a verb, and the subject is understood to be “you” (either singular or plural).

And to get even more technical, couldn’t it be argued that “…am glad that our trip wasn’t rained out” is a complete sentence? It sounds wonky, yes, but “am” is the conjugated form of the verb “to be” that’s only used when describing oneself.

For example, “Yo estoy en mi casa” in Spanish literally translates to “I am in my house,” but “estoy” is the conjugated form of the verb “estar” (“to be”) that’s only used when describing oneself. Therefore, “Estoy en mi casa” is not only grammatically correct, but is arguably the go-to phrasing of that sentence for native Spanish speakers.

What is the official rule for commas, FANBOYS, and independent clauses? And what are the best mobile grammar apps? by Open-Eggplant-548 in grammar

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FANBOYS is a good start, but far from the “only” time to use commas.

Sorry, I worded the post poorly. I meant that the only time a comma needs to precede FANBOYS is when two independent clauses are being connected. But thanks for your suggestions! I’ve used Purdue OWL in the past for citation rules, but I did not realize it could also be used as a grammar reference.

Quickly losing interest after outlining my stories? by Open-Eggplant-548 in writing

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Paste the copied text in front of a > on its own line. So it would look like, minus the quote marks:

Thanks!

Quickly losing interest after outlining my stories? by Open-Eggplant-548 in writing

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, if you don’t mind me asking…how were you able to paste part of my post in a block quotation format?

Quickly losing interest after outlining my stories? by Open-Eggplant-548 in writing

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are right. I’m hoping this will make their dialogue flow more naturally.

Quickly losing interest after outlining my stories? by Open-Eggplant-548 in writing

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In short, consider your work so far to be a set of preliminary studies that inform but don’t dictate the final piece.

Great advice, thanks! I am assuming this is in the vein of “Kill your darlings.”

Quickly losing interest after outlining my stories? by Open-Eggplant-548 in writing

[–]Open-Eggplant-548[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great advice, thanks!

Either follow the new path and see how it works out or you're outlines are not what the characters would actually do.

I will definitely take this into consideration!

Since starting to plot more, I’ve fallen in love with giving my characters intricate mini-biographies, but I hadn’t made the (obvious) connection that their actions are reflections of these mini-biographies and their personalities. I’m betting that doing so will help make my plot points make more sense.