Do you like Old English prose?I'm having a lot of trouble writing fiction in English. It feels flat and rigid compared to what I'm used to and I'm thinking of just going all in on Old English within the project I'm working on.
>>25211132>Old EnglishYou mean the script that is considered closer to modern day German than modern day English, which the majority of English speakers do not know?Good luck with marketing your novel, buddy.
>>25211132>>25211202I think OP probably means Early Modern English.
>>25211232Also as someone who is familiar with Early Modern English grammar it always sticks out to me when someone uses it incorrectly, so I would suggest making sure you actually understand how the pronouns and verb conjugations work if you want to use it in something.
>>25211132Despite the name Old English is not English, it's another language entirely.
>>25211132Old English is literally unreadable. Middle English barely passes, and even then requires some preparation.
>>25211132As others anon have said old English is almost no English at all. You probably mean shakespeare English. Are you a Spanish speaker by any chance? Depending on what time period you're putting your novel you have different accents to choose from.
>>25211132>It feels flat and rigid my feeling is that if you've really developed an ear from what makes something like 16th- or 19th-century english vivid and engaging and flexible then you should be able to achieve analogous things with the tools of contemporary english
>>25211264There's a large variety of "old English" too. Shakespeare the experimenter, latinate Milton, Mason & Dixon, or just general 19th century prose.>Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings, as of Cousins, carried Hats away into the brisk Wind off Delaware,— the Sleds are brought in and their Runners carefully dried and greased, shoes deposited in the back Hall, a stocking'd-foot Descent made upon the great Kitchen, in a purposeful Dither since Morning, punctuated by the ringing Lids of various Boilers and Stewing-Pots, fragrant with Pie Spices, peel'd Fruits, Suet, heated Sugar, — the Children, having all upon the Fly, among rhythmic slaps of Batter and Spoon, coax'd and stolen what they might, proceed, as upon each afternoon all this snowy Advent, to a comfortable Room at the rear of the House, years since given over to their carefree Assaults. OP is probably new to style. I recommend studying Ulysses, particularly Oxen of the Sun, and I've seen anons recommend "Building Great Sentences" by Landon. Other style books seem to opt for soulless minimalism.
>>25211275stfu retardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English
>>25211322I know, that's why I said "old English", not Old English
>>25211323stfu
>>25211132Assuming you mean people like Shakespeare and Milton, I'd definitely read them because they're great, but be careful of the trap of aping the aesthetics of their language without the solid understanding of language that makes them so good. When a modern English speaker uses "thee" and "thou" without the sense for the rhythm and cadence of the words that make them appealing to readers of Shakespeare, it often just feels more stilted and flat, rather than non-flat.I'd also recommend reading more recent authors who use very "high" sounding language such as McCarthy, Joyce, or Melville.Alternatively you could also read hyper-modern writers such as DFW, Pynchon, etc. whose writing is anything but flat while using a lot of colloquial speech and vernacular American English.Take it from someone who went through a Shakespeare phase, the shit I wrote in that period would have been much improved if I'd not tried (and failed) to go "all in."I think you can usually improve your writing by just reading more good English writing, no matter what style or aesthetic you choose to use.Also here's Politics and the English Language, you've probably heard of it or read it already but it's a great little essay:https://dn721601.ca.archive.org/0/items/orwell-politics-the-english-language-1946/Orwell%20-%20%27%27Politics%20%26%20the%20English%20Language%27%27%20%5B1946%5D.pdf
>>25211132the tool isn't the problem, it's probably your (lack of) skillTrying to mask it with a contrarian language won't help.
>>25211132seems like cope from a shit writer trying to mask his writing in a contrarian language that's more difficult to critique.
>>25211132>It feels flat and rigidthen you need to build your vocabulary and look at it differently. modern english is the most flexible and creative language at our disposal. You can write absolute gibberish, and if you use the right words, everyone will understand you.
>>25211132Just write it in your own language and translate it, get a couple of proofreaders to check the translation makes sense, or don’t. If your English is good enough you should be capable of translating your own work into it
