Passive writing

[miyako73]

They say using linking verbs is a no-no in fiction.

Here's the first paragraph in Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter:


"These are the things I know are true:

My name is LuLing Liu Young. The names of my husbands were
Pan Kai Jing and Edwin Young, both of them dead and our secrets
gone with them. My daughter is Ruth Luyi Young. She was born in a
Water Dragon Year and I in a Fire Dragon Year. So we are the same
but for opposite reasons."

Is it reasonable to think that only published writers can break "literary rules"?

[minstrelbard]

Miyako, you have asked questions like this before. No offense, but it seems to me that you have read a lot of books about writing and are treating everything they say as gospel.

My advice to you is this: Stop reading books that claim they'll teach you to write well. Instead, read books that are written well. Read good literature - there's plenty of it out there. There's a thread on this forum somewhere about the finest prose stylists in English; you could start with the authors discussed in that thread. You might want to stick to the recent ones at first - they're more likely to have voices close to what you're trying to achieve.

You know what you'll find in the work of those wonderful writers? Linking verbs and adverbs and lots of other elements the "how to write" books will tell you are no-nos. But they'll be used properly.

If you want to learn to write good prose, start by reading good prose. That will teach you what effects are possible; what other writers, outstanding writers, have achieved. Then write. Write as well as you can. Practice. Keep reading, keep writing, and you'll learn for yourself the difference between what's good and what's lousy. And you'll probably find yourself putting your "how to write" books up for auction on Ebay.