commenting on cold mountain even though I haven't

stephen reynolds · 10-27-1997 02:04 PM

Mark, It's not as uncommon as you may think--see Cormac McCarthy, who doesn't even use a dash in lieu of quotations; or James Joyce who does. I suppose anything goes, as long as the editor/publisher agree with the author. Writing w/o quotations can be interesting, and requires some care and ability. It didn't hurt Frazier's work; though I don't see that it particularly added anything, since it was not an original idea. Good book.

Carolyn Clarke · 10-28-1997 07:10 AM

I find people use unorthodox punctuation for two reasons: they want to shake the reader up, or they aren't confident that they know how to use semi-colons, colons, etc. correctly, so pretend to be experimental to cover up their lack. I have been an editor and a proof-reader, and I know from experience that professors are often the worst; they figure their degrees confer a status of super-brain. My advice would be to use punctuation, including quotation marks, correctly, and let your content blow the reader away. Using conventional punctuation is also likely to get you published more quickly.

Patrick Cooke · 11-08-1997 08:46 PM

<html> <head> Comment on punctuation </head> <h2> Professor who punctuates his own way </h2> <p> Any professor worth his salt knows how to punctuate. Ergo, unique punctuation is his way of getting attention. Poems written in all lower case with graphic layout, sentences that stretch for a chapter, dashes in place of quotation marks, lower case only, mixed typography, et al, have been seen before. The only true way to be unique is to write your novel in a pre-literate language -- that would really shake up the readers, if any could be found.

Dennis Latham · 11-09-1997 03:54 PM

I am just trying to find some help on an agent question. I have had two books with a top agent for 18 months. The agency seems now more interested in the film side instead of the publishing end. This is fine. But if I wanted to change agents, how do I approach another without looking bad because my first two novels haven't sold yet? If anyone could give me advice, I would sure appreciate it.

magggie davis · 11-25-1997 04:09 PM

Unusual punctuation can be used to liven up what is essentially a tedious, uninspired book. "The author is a professor so he must know what he is doing"? Ah, innoence - it sustains the vast popular bestseller market.

Dave Beemon · 02-08-1998 02:02 PM

Recently I've heard a lot of good feedback on the book, including stuff from the N.Y. Review of Books and snatches of bus conversations, so it must be worth reading, which makes me wonder even more why he would use weird punctuation. If the story is already good enough why mess around with the vehicle? Can't wait to read it.

Carol Frome · 02-12-1998 02:13 PM

Using dashes instead of punctuation marks has been done. Remember Emily D? But unless the material demands it, one does have to wonder, why do it? I think it's simply a stylistic choice. Or, alas, a fashion choice. In some cases it might even be showing off: see what I can do? However, I don't think that people who do it well do it because they don't know how to use punctuation. In fact, precisly the opposite is probably true. No one can successfully depart from the convention unless he or she fully understands how the convention works in the first place, otherwise the experiment will be bungled. As for semicolons and colons, well! In creative work, the semi-colon is not often used because the dash and the period are so much more emphatic and interesting stylistically. The semi-colon is wimpy, when one thinks of the breath. The period causes us to come to a full stop between two related ideas. It's a nice pause. A full breath. The dash causes us to more quickly catch the breath and rush on for information. A semicolon reads like this: uh, er. It's simply not the best style. Fine for business letters, but not for anything requiring an ear to musicality. Colons are fine, I think. I use them a lot. However, I must admit that I use them infrequently in my fiction, more in my poetry. But in creative work, I think they are used a little differently than they would be in a business letter where they might be used to introduce a list or following a salutation. Rather, when used creatively and effectively, the colon produces a particularly long pause that in speech would be the pause one takes for dramatic effect. For example, She knew his look was a question: what's he doing here? "I love you," he said. I love you: these were words she knew she would never say. Hasta La Vista--Carol Frome

Bonnie Turner · 03-22-1998 04:08 AM

Proper punctuation makes writing easier to read. Stick with the tried and true; most editors expect it. A writer who uses dashes in place of quotation marks is taking the easy way out--no need to think. Just throw in a dash. Also, I disagree that semicolons are whimpy. Used correctly, they can help clarify what came before, lend sentence variety, and smooth out bumpy writing. I find them more useful than colons.

Larry E. Hand · 04-03-1998 11:56 AM

Am reading it. James Joyce did the same thing in Ulysses, so the technique isn't new. I love Cold Mountain, hate the punctuation. I can't tell if I'm reading dialogue or narrative.

Diane L. · 05-21-1998 06:33 PM

My response is to the Cold Mountain question. First, the punctuation drove me nuts. As a writer striving constantly to IMPROVE my grammar and punctuation, I found this almost laughable. Then to top it off, this guy if a first time writer. How many of us would get looked at for the first time with a ms. like that, I wonder? And the content??? My novel is a TRUE Civil War story, not just some trek across the Blue Ridge Mountains AFTER the war is virtually over, seeing nothing but minimal guerilla warfare. And the "love story!" Be still my heart. She doesn't even l) know he's coming; 2) know he's alive; and 3) remember what he looks like 'cause she's only met him ONCE!!! This is a love story? It took me a hundred pages to realize what Frazier was doing. He most likely grew up in the Blue Ridge Mts. and had dozens of stories he wanted to relate. He found the easiest way to do so, just have a soldier trek through the mts. on his way home--to his supposed love. He may be in love with her, but she doesn't even remember his face! And then the ending is SOOOOO contrived, to find her in some deserted Indian village in the middle of nowwhere in the middle of winter! Pahleeze. I guess being a writer and writing what Frazier does I'm very critical. But of the six or eight people I know of who've also read it, one refused to read past 43 pages and all but one have not enjoyed it AT ALL. In fact, most had to struggle to get through it. Now that I'm done screaming (especially after I read the Newsweek article touting the Civil War drama and the girl waiting for him and I ran about the office asking if the reviewer had EVEN read the book) I'll close. The only good thing that will come from this for me is that when MY book gets published (and it will), I can catch the tailspin and people can read a TRUE Civil War drama, (one I began six years ago) with all the characters and battles, as well as the "love story" that goes with it. Forgive me, I'm done. Diane

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