Oh, Shut Up

But starting a sentence with a but some regard as beyond the pale. Even though sometimes on a cold morning there is no other way of getting the sentence going. That is unless there is a nearby slope to push it down so it stutters into life and then the first paragraph is up and running.

Of course, back in the (good) old days, each paragraph would come with its own – sometimes–integral – starting-handle. A few sentences setting the scene and there you were, the whole piece was up and running and chugging away nicely before the readers had their reading goggles and gauntlets on.

Still, this though is – apparently – the modern world and things here are different. Now is not the future though as we still lack the personal jetpacks and robot butlers that officially demark the future’s arrival.

So this is the here and now and we are stuck with it. Up to and including getting our writing up and running on cold and damp mornings. Ideally, before the readership begins to suspect the writer has – at long last, and to the relief of many – run out of stuff to wibble on about.

Already, there are fingers poised over mice and touchscreens. Each digit twitching and itching to get on to the newest of the new pictures of cute cats doing cute things with cute captions, wishing this fool would just shut up so the rest of the day can carry on.

So, shut up he does.

 

[Books by David Hadley are available here (UK) or here (US)]