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C. Lee McKenzie's avatar

I dislike writing rules. Like cattle chutes, they funnel most writers into the same pen. So often, published stories read about the same. Language gives us many opportunities to create not only engaging plots but also stories that appeal to our senses and expand our awareness. McCarthy is brilliant in the way he weaves words into a sensory tapestry.

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D.A. Bishop's avatar

I'm not sure I was aware of any unspoken rule against compound subjects as regards good style (or is it only complex compound subjects with unilateral modifiers prior to the verb?). I am however constantly intuiting whether a sentence's construction is impairing its clarity; consciously considering complex compound subjects would be a good criterion for identifying hang-ups in my sentences.

That said, the opening sentence to ATPH's never really tripped me up. But my dumb reptile brain got stuck on the second sentence of Cold Mountain once because it wouldn't stop reading the word "wound" as the past tense of "wind..." the verb not the noun. Very puzzling reading experience until I got that sorted haha

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