What's With All the Ellipses? - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T21:51:05Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/whats-with-all-the-ellipses?x=1&id=537324%3ATopic%3A247284&feed=yes&xn_auth=noUmm, it sounds as though the…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-10-18:537324:Comment:2531812010-10-18T14:10:51.407ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Umm, it sounds as though the publisher is responsible in this case.
Umm, it sounds as though the publisher is responsible in this case. Surely there is recourse to t…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-10-17:537324:Comment:2531272010-10-17T22:04:38.037ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Surely there is recourse to that sort of misrepresentation!? In any case, the publicity machine must be made to print and publish retractions.
Surely there is recourse to that sort of misrepresentation!? In any case, the publicity machine must be made to print and publish retractions. I know this discussion has di…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-10-17:537324:Comment:2531142010-10-17T18:27:30.077ZAnne Claybrookhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/AnneClaybrook
I know this discussion has died down but I couldn't help but jump in. I’ve always assumed, perhaps wrongly, that those ellipses are for real and that true omissions have been made—for better or worse. That assumption grows out of personal experience. I was the victim of a blurb and the ellipses!<br />
<br />
It was our habit on our Law Review board at our school to write our rejection letters with a small bit of friendly soft-soap wording at the beginning. Thus, our letters included: “although we find your…
I know this discussion has died down but I couldn't help but jump in. I’ve always assumed, perhaps wrongly, that those ellipses are for real and that true omissions have been made—for better or worse. That assumption grows out of personal experience. I was the victim of a blurb and the ellipses!<br />
<br />
It was our habit on our Law Review board at our school to write our rejection letters with a small bit of friendly soft-soap wording at the beginning. Thus, our letters included: “although we find your article comprehensive and well-written, we find that we are not able to publish it at this time.” We might then explain our reasons for rejecting the article. For over a year, I was the person signing those letters.<br />
<br />
My final quarter in law school, while I was engrossed with studying for the bar exam, I began to get phone calls from newspaper reporters, congressmen, and even someone from the FBI. It seems that someone who had submitted an article to the law review at some point under my watch (probably a fairly innocuous piece) went on to write a book. The author was the leader of one of, if not the, most notorious Arian supremist, anti-government, anti-everything groups of the time. The FBI considered the group and its leader highly dangerous. The book had been distributed (for free) to every member of Congress and every member of every state legislature. Moreover, right there on the back, in the top blurb position, it said, “ . . . comprehensive and well-written . . .” with my name, the name of our law review, and the name of our school!<br />
<br />
I learned about this in a phone call from a national reporter out of California. Needless to say, I found studying very difficult! He Fed-Ex’d me a copy of the book, and when I read all the vile, ugly things that I had “endorsed” I was frightened as well.<br />
<br />
I immediately had to call the state appellate judge that I was to go to work for and warn her about the potential bad press, as well as the firm I was working for in the interim. The university hired a law firm to represent the law school and me. Within a month, our congressman and representative read into the Congressional Record and the state legislative record that, indeed, I did not endorse the book.<br />
<br />
Through all the distraction, I managed to keep on studying, and passed the bar, even with that bizarre distraction. Immediately, the law review’s standard language was changed; no stock language has been used since.<br />
<br />
As you might imagine, I maintain a copy of that statement read to Congress—just in case I ever decide to run for public office or something. You just know that someone will find and drag book out of the closet!<br />
<br />
And that is my story of a blurb and ellipses! Exactly. What they did was di…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-19:537324:Comment:2506042010-09-19T21:26:21.064ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Exactly. What they did was dishonest.
Exactly. What they did was dishonest. I gave up reviewing one parti…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-19:537324:Comment:2506012010-09-19T21:18:23.838ZJoy Calderwoodhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Dragonlily
I gave up reviewing one particular author because his publisher purported to quote me but actually removed all my qualifiers that indicated my reading experience was iffy. They made it sound like a golden read. A few of the required-but-not-included ellipses would have made their "quote" selections more realistic.
I gave up reviewing one particular author because his publisher purported to quote me but actually removed all my qualifiers that indicated my reading experience was iffy. They made it sound like a golden read. A few of the required-but-not-included ellipses would have made their "quote" selections more realistic. They don't mean the same thin…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-28:537324:Comment:2481282010-08-28T21:32:41.319ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
They don't mean the same thing. Heart-pounding by itself refers to the reader's experience. In that instance, ride through the underground explains setting. Written together, the heart-pounding is that of the characters on their ride.
They don't mean the same thing. Heart-pounding by itself refers to the reader's experience. In that instance, ride through the underground explains setting. Written together, the heart-pounding is that of the characters on their ride. OK, next question. Which blur…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-28:537324:Comment:2481262010-08-28T19:57:14.361ZBenjamin Sobieckhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BenjaminSobieck
OK, next question. Which blurb would be more effective?<br />
<br />
Contender A: "A heart-pounding ride through the criminal underground."<br />
<br />
Contender B: "Heart-pounding...a ride through the criminal underground."
OK, next question. Which blurb would be more effective?<br />
<br />
Contender A: "A heart-pounding ride through the criminal underground."<br />
<br />
Contender B: "Heart-pounding...a ride through the criminal underground." Ah, yes. Very clever. There i…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-28:537324:Comment:2481042010-08-28T18:07:18.905ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Ah, yes. Very clever. There is, of course, another use, and that's the long string of similar phrases. :)
Ah, yes. Very clever. There is, of course, another use, and that's the long string of similar phrases. :) Furthermore, if you were to h…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-28:537324:Comment:2480992010-08-28T17:14:31.775ZCaroline Trippehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/CarolineTrippe
<b>Furthermore, if you were to hear it spoken, the semicolon would disappear.</b><br />
<br />
LOL!! Here is a little anecdote. Many years ago a graduate student in our department boarded for a time with one of the art history professors and his wife, who might be described, if you were being kind, as "pedantic." The grad student partook of meals with this family, and described the dinner table conversations to another friend. The professor and his wife, he said, "spoke in semi-colons." This meant that you…
<b>Furthermore, if you were to hear it spoken, the semicolon would disappear.</b><br />
<br />
LOL!! Here is a little anecdote. Many years ago a graduate student in our department boarded for a time with one of the art history professors and his wife, who might be described, if you were being kind, as "pedantic." The grad student partook of meals with this family, and described the dinner table conversations to another friend. The professor and his wife, he said, "spoke in semi-colons." This meant that you could never interrupt them; any pause in the conversation was a semi-colon, indicating that more was to come! And more....and more.... :) I completely agree that th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-28:537324:Comment:2480922010-08-28T14:09:24.437ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
:) I completely agree that the semicolon looks silly in dialog. It appears in narrative, separating two complete but interrelated sentences. That makes it a sophisticated construction. We may have complex thoughts or comments in letters or in narrative, but dialog tends to be simple and to the point. Furthermore, if you were to hear it spoken, the semicolon would disappear.
:) I completely agree that the semicolon looks silly in dialog. It appears in narrative, separating two complete but interrelated sentences. That makes it a sophisticated construction. We may have complex thoughts or comments in letters or in narrative, but dialog tends to be simple and to the point. Furthermore, if you were to hear it spoken, the semicolon would disappear.