I am prone to bloodsucking plagues of somewhats and slightlies too. I'm inclined to believe it's a female-socialisation thing: don't be too assertive and definite. I'm going to picture myself going through text with a squirty bottle now :-).
I'm baffled by the fuss made about the passive, since of the weaknesses I note in beginners' writing, an over-reliance on it is definitely not one of them. I feel that complex grammatical structures are there to be used, and chucking tools out of your toolbag before you start is unwise.
Anyway, this is great, and just backs up what I've always thought about writing advice, which is that the only advice that actually works is 'read what you've written and think about it really hard.'
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chiming
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Date: 2013-06-13 06:10 am (UTC)From:I'm baffled by the fuss made about the passive, since of the weaknesses I note in beginners' writing, an over-reliance on it is definitely not one of them. I feel that complex grammatical structures are there to be used, and chucking tools out of your toolbag before you start is unwise.
Anyway, this is great, and just backs up what I've always thought about writing advice, which is that the only advice that actually works is 'read what you've written and think about it really hard.'