While reading a century-old book by a writer I love very much, I realised something important to me. None of his sentences were identical. Despite his unique style, especially his use of long sentences, there was no trace of boredom. That is a great merit.
Interestingly, although many things bother me when I write my fiction, this is the one I complain about the most. For some reason, I feel as if I catch the similarity of my sentences. Maybe I judge myself too much, I am not sure. But especially when I link sentences together, I feel as if my vocabulary is suddenly shrinking. Consequently, this situation makes me worry, albeit occasionally, that I will not be able to achieve the integrity of meaning that I want.
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Let me continue with a “strange sounding” anecdote. I was at primary school and on my way home. I had always been interested in words, but somehow, I don’t know how, I had an epiphany. I decided to do an experiment on myself and during the 10–15 minute journey home I chose a word. It didn’t have to be anything special, it could be anything. So I chose the word “Bagel”, I remember it like it was yesterday.
All the way home I kept saying bagel in my head. Bagel, bagel, bagel… Who knows how many times I did that? By the time I had finished, I realised that bagel no longer existed in my vocabulary and mind. It was as if a barrier in my mind was fighting to prevent this word from being reflected in the visual, and when I succeeded, it hurt my mind.
Besides, it had begun to feel rather funny to lose the true meaning of the word. No, it wasn’t because I was a child, it really happens. If you haven’t tried it yet, pick a word for yourself and repeat it. I understood that it felt as strange as it was funny. It was as if the bagel didn’t belong to my language at all, as if it was a word from a foreign language I had never heard of, a word from which I could make no inference.
You may prefer to think of it this way: Since the bagel is round, it would be even more aesthetically pleasing to call it a “Bogol”. But since there is no such word, it sounds strange. Just like the bagel, which lost its meaning after my experiment. It can be equally absurd to forget what exists and try to give meaning to what does not.
After all, we all have some strange-sounding (literally, in this case) behaviour that we did as children. Years later, when we realise that some of them actually exist scientifically, we are surprised and say “so there really is such a thing”. This is how I was introduced to semantics. I had the childish pride of being right about what I thought.
Meaning is everything. You can write a lot of sentences, but if they do not create integrity, they are not complete. This is something we should be careful about, both in our articles and in our fiction. So let’s look at how we can maintain that in our storytelling.
I think we can take the semantic approach from the specific to the general. If words are the specific, the smallest part, then sentences and the narrative itself can form the general, the whole.
I shared my memory in the context of the word. We also know that a word cannot be used repeatedly. However, sometimes the words that catch our eye (especially little known or unusual words) can cause us to fixate directly on the word rather than on what is being expressed in the sentence.
Finally, constant repetition of a word can lead to monotony in the text. Readers may become bored with the repeated use of the same word and turn away from the story. Therefore, writers should encourage variety in word choice and careful use of language.
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Then comes the sentence structure, and the most important thing I have to say is that it should be simple and, if possible, concise. Now some of you may object. “I’m reading a book and the author is using dozens of words in one sentence”. This is true, it is indeed a matter of style. So much so that the author I mentioned at the beginning is one of them. However, given that I do not read works by contemporary writers, I say that the reason why writers who shaped the genre 80–100 years ago are still read is that they are more knowledgeable than we think. There is undoubtedly a huge difference between imitating them and knowing as much as they do.
Another important issue is the punctuation marks that we should pay attention to in order to maintain the integrity of the sentences. Did you know that both the colon (:) and the semicolon (;) can be used in the same sentence? I think I have come across it once, maybe twice in my life. It is similar to what I just mentioned, isn’t it? There must be a reason why they are not used frequently. On the other hand, I should point out that overuse can lead to confusion and underuse can lead to monotony. In short, balance is as important in stories as it is in life.
Incidentally, there is a term for meaning that cannot be conveyed in translation: semantic loss. Literary works (such as poetry), inscriptions with cultural traces or religious references and teachings in holy books are particularly prone to this.
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Now let’s take the topic to its general dimension, to the whole of writing. You know that we create an introduction, a development and a conclusion to the topic we are writing about. These are the structures that provide the integrity of meaning in the most basic way. We do not want them to be involved in the topic without informing the person what the topic is going to be about. Otherwise it will be difficult for them to understand the topic and the conclusion will not make sense to them either.
Of course, when we go into detail, the interrelationships of characters, theme, emotional states and events in a fiction should be controlled. The point is not to establish them well, but to establish them at all.
Characters in dialogue should have their own style, we should treat them as real personalities. It would be strange and funny if a vagrant man spoke sweetly or a baby swore. It seems that when the integrity of meaning is lost, things become either annoying or funny.
I always use the third point of view in my fiction. The change of emotions in my dialogues doesn’t happen here. I think it is essential that it is monotonous. As you all know, this is not to create an annoying tone, but to create an external voice and to narrate what is happening outside the dialogues. For this reason, I do not understand the frequent use of personal reflections and interrogations (from the point of view of the main character or as an aid to him) in the narrator’s sentences. In my opinion, the overall narrative should be preserved with the least possible interference in the plot.
Writing and creating a memorable narrative is not as easy as we think, perhaps that is why it is fun. The work that has been put in is hidden in the stories. Of course, there is a reason for the creations that stand firm even after centuries. Those who disappear are just like repeating lives.
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