Thanks for such amazing video! I understand the style of my favourite author a bit more now, and can't wait to use it in my work too. I can't wait for more of your videos analyzing Rothufuss. And I would love to see a video from you on more conjuctions in the future, you are such amazing teacher and I always learn something new from you!
Thanks for the interesting topic idea. I hadn't yet considered it. I can't promise I'll address linking verbs as it pertains to Rothfuss's writing, but I'll be sure to keep my eyes open.
i really appreciate these deep dives into sentence-by-sentence prose-my ocd ass will rewrite a sentence a thousand times and rearrange clauses until i'm pulling my hair out. your methodical analysis of structure is great at making me slow down and take a step back (also it just scratches an itch in my brain hahaha). thanks!!
Slowing down in definitely underrated. We miss so much as writers when we rush, always trying to "finish" the writing or "get to the end." It took me a long time before I realized the true meaning of patience; patience not meaning slowness, but taking the time that is truly needed. Sink your attention into a given sentence, and relax. Hold the intended meaning of the sentence in your mind, and slowly form the sentence until it fits with that meaning. Pay attention to all the little words. This may take longer than you're accustom to, but in the end you'll have articulated your thoughts well, and you won't be left with that nagging feeling that something's not quite right. If it still feels off, that's just your brain telling you the sentence needs a little more attention. If you try and force it, it'll to drive you crazy; but relax into it, and the process becomes easier. Hope this helps! I got a little carried away haha.
Something that helped me tremendously as a beginner -- curiously enough -- was studying poetic devices related to sound (poetic meter, assonance, consonance, alliteration, etc). That's with the ultimate aim of writing prose, and care not to turn it too purple. I was also prone to edit my drafts endlessly, and mostly for reasons that had nothing to do with the storytelling or basic communication/word choice. Above all else, what prompted me to be dissatisfied with my sentences was how they sounded and flowed. Studying poetic devices helped me to immediately understand why certain sentences didn't sound right with relation to my reading preferences and writing intentions. For example, introducing a spondee (jamming two stressed syllables right next to each other) in a smoothly-flowing sentence using iambic/trochaic feet (or any other fairly regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables) is going to have a very dissonant effect, slowing down readers [*]. [*] _While that could be very useful when intentional, it's very frustrating if it's unintended and you can't understand why it's so jarring to read._ Understanding what makes sentences flow and developing a second-hand nature for it also helps us to instinctively vary our sentence structures more. Before I studied poetic devices, I rarely used the full range of conjunctions. I always wrote things like, "Joe enjoyed the meal, but it gave him the runs," or "Joe enjoyed the meal. However/Nevertheless/Nonetheless, it gave him the runs." Even though I was aware of a wider variety of sentence structures as a reader, I lacked the instincts to vary them in the drafting stage as a writer and so my writing often took on very repetitive and monotonous structural patterns. Now after studying and practicing poetry, I naturally vary my sentence structures a lot more just subconsciously without thinking about it. "Although/while Joe enjoyed the meal, it gave him the runs." "Despite enjoying the meal, Joe acquired the runs." "The meal was delicious and filling and gave Joe the runs. [humorous]." "As soon as Joe finished his delicious meal, he developed the runs." The variety just starts to flow from your fingertips. Although I still need to revise a lot for word choice and clarity and storytelling reasons, I require it far less so for flow these days and, when I do, it takes little time to figure out and make the necessary tweaks to improve the flow.
Aha, these three conjunctions are some of the most overused, or either avoided like poison for most young writers in fear of sounding redundant which often leads to clumsy sounding sentences. Thanks for the great lesson and reminder for old writers as well m8. Best wishes with that audio fix XD.
I agree, tasteful use of conjunctions is a fine line to walk. I know topics like these can be rather painstaking to study, so I'm glad I could save you the trouble. Making videos for this channel helps me articulate & understand the complexities of writing, so I'm always glad when other writers find them helpful. And yes, sorry about the audio :/ I'm a writer first, and an audio engineer second haha.
![[3] The Prose of Patrick Rothfuss | How to Evoke Vivid Imagery & Emotion](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pUQdAEs8_ac/mqdefault.jpg)
![[3] The Prose of Patrick Rothfuss | How to Evoke Vivid Imagery & Emotion](/img/tr.png)
Thanks for such amazing video! I understand the style of my favourite author a bit more now, and can't wait to use it in my work too. I can't wait for more of your videos analyzing Rothufuss. And I would love to see a video from you on more conjuctions in the future, you are such amazing teacher and I always learn something new from you!
Another great video.
Thanks Corey! You've made me a more proficient fanfiction writer. LOL
Love your videos, Corey :)
Wise beyond your age, Corey.
Will you be covering the use of linking verbs, would love to see a deep dive on those
Thanks for the interesting topic idea. I hadn't yet considered it. I can't promise I'll address linking verbs as it pertains to Rothfuss's writing, but I'll be sure to keep my eyes open.
i really appreciate these deep dives into sentence-by-sentence prose-my ocd ass will rewrite a sentence a thousand times and rearrange clauses until i'm pulling my hair out. your methodical analysis of structure is great at making me slow down and take a step back (also it just scratches an itch in my brain hahaha). thanks!!
Slowing down in definitely underrated. We miss so much as writers when we rush, always trying to "finish" the writing or "get to the end." It took me a long time before I realized the true meaning of patience; patience not meaning slowness, but taking the time that is truly needed. Sink your attention into a given sentence, and relax. Hold the intended meaning of the sentence in your mind, and slowly form the sentence until it fits with that meaning. Pay attention to all the little words. This may take longer than you're accustom to, but in the end you'll have articulated your thoughts well, and you won't be left with that nagging feeling that something's not quite right. If it still feels off, that's just your brain telling you the sentence needs a little more attention. If you try and force it, it'll to drive you crazy; but relax into it, and the process becomes easier. Hope this helps! I got a little carried away haha.
Something that helped me tremendously as a beginner -- curiously enough -- was studying poetic devices related to sound (poetic meter, assonance, consonance, alliteration, etc). That's with the ultimate aim of writing prose, and care not to turn it too purple.
I was also prone to edit my drafts endlessly, and mostly for reasons that had nothing to do with the storytelling or basic communication/word choice. Above all else, what prompted me to be dissatisfied with my sentences was how they sounded and flowed.
Studying poetic devices helped me to immediately understand why certain sentences didn't sound right with relation to my reading preferences and writing intentions. For example, introducing a spondee (jamming two stressed syllables right next to each other) in a smoothly-flowing sentence using iambic/trochaic feet (or any other fairly regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables) is going to have a very dissonant effect, slowing down readers [*].
[*] _While that could be very useful when intentional, it's very frustrating if it's unintended and you can't understand why it's so jarring to read._
Understanding what makes sentences flow and developing a second-hand nature for it also helps us to instinctively vary our sentence structures more. Before I studied poetic devices, I rarely used the full range of conjunctions. I always wrote things like, "Joe enjoyed the meal, but it gave him the runs," or "Joe enjoyed the meal. However/Nevertheless/Nonetheless, it gave him the runs." Even though I was aware of a wider variety of sentence structures as a reader, I lacked the instincts to vary them in the drafting stage as a writer and so my writing often took on very repetitive and monotonous structural patterns.
Now after studying and practicing poetry, I naturally vary my sentence structures a lot more just subconsciously without thinking about it. "Although/while Joe enjoyed the meal, it gave him the runs." "Despite enjoying the meal, Joe acquired the runs." "The meal was delicious and filling and gave Joe the runs. [humorous]." "As soon as Joe finished his delicious meal, he developed the runs."
The variety just starts to flow from your fingertips. Although I still need to revise a lot for word choice and clarity and storytelling reasons, I require it far less so for flow these days and, when I do, it takes little time to figure out and make the necessary tweaks to improve the flow.
Your voice audio is back to playing only on the left speaker, while the music is stereo.
Darn, my bad. If it's any consolation, I think I've finally figured out why. I'll be sure to fix it in the next video.
Aha, these three conjunctions are some of the most overused, or either avoided like poison for most young writers in fear of sounding redundant which often leads to clumsy sounding sentences. Thanks for the great lesson and reminder for old writers as well m8. Best wishes with that audio fix XD.
I agree, tasteful use of conjunctions is a fine line to walk. I know topics like these can be rather painstaking to study, so I'm glad I could save you the trouble. Making videos for this channel helps me articulate & understand the complexities of writing, so I'm always glad when other writers find them helpful. And yes, sorry about the audio :/ I'm a writer first, and an audio engineer second haha.