double tap
i’ve been reading “the adventures of sherlock holmes” by sir arthur conan doyle.
i’ve noticed a technique i like. i call it double tap.
here is the purest example:
“this dress does implicate miss flora millar” “and how?” “in the dress is a pocket. in the pocket is a card-case. in the card-case is a note. and here is the very note.”
this could have been “in the dress is a pocket, in it a card-case, in it…” or even “in the dress is a pocket, a card-case, a note, here it is”…
another example:
at last, however, the bumping of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel drive and the carriage came to a stand. colonel lysander stark sprang out, and, as i followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front of us. we stepped, as it were, right out the carriage and into the hall, so that i failed to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of the house. the instant that i crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us, and i heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away.
double tap would be: stating something in a sentence, and rephrasing it immediately after as the first part of a 2-step sentence.
might feel redundant, but i feel it grounds the setting while still conveying motion.
“double tap” was very clear to me when reading the book, but i don’t know if i’m explaining correctly.
even if i’m blundering my explanations, i hope that you will read some holmes, for the victorian writing is exquisite and holmes is a fascinating character.
it’s not so much the deductive power of holmes (nb: holmes is more about deductions than observation, though he does carry a magnifying glass), but he’s got an indescribably devilish quality, a laugh and a morgue…
present, aware, yet in another plane. adhd final boss.
“an eley’s no. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. that and a tooth-brush are, i think, all that we need.”
and the joy of this hound! never a doomer, a clever hunter with manners.
“well,” said our engineer ruefully, as we took our seats to return to london, “it has been a pretty business for me! i have lost my thumb, and i have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what have i gained?”
“experience,” said holmes laughing. “indirectly it may be of value, you know; you only have to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”
well, this double tap thing is not very interesting.
…
sorry.
i just wanted to write something because i loved reading this book.
truth be told, it’s about the style and vocabulary.
i love english poetry, fine words. fresh water after the worn ashen globish this world is made of.