Writing tip: Write the unexpected in an expectable way

When a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat, the audience says it's magic, but when a writer does it, the audience asks where it came from. Anyone can write something that was unexpected. What makes the unexpected brilliant is that the audience could have expected it, if only they'd been paying more attention to what went into the hat.

Prepare the audience for every shock; uncover a few bones before you dig up the corpse; and foreshadow extensively, without being predictable. It'll make you seem smarter than you are, which is better than being smarter than you seem.

Subjunctive tense

The subjunctive tense (also known as subjunctive mood) in English is found in clauses following a verb that expresses “a doubt, a wish, regret, request, demand, or proposal” (englishplus.com). Moreover, the subjunctive tense most commonly follows in a clause starting with “if.”

Only the present tense third person singular conjugations of verbs, and the conjugations of the verb "to be" are required to change when the subjunctive tense is used. In the case of the verb "to be" the subjunctive tense requires that you use “be” for the present tense, and "were" for the past tense, regardless of whether the subject is “I, you, she, or they.”

FOR EXAMPLE (past tense):

If I were richer, I'd be able to afford a better car.

NOT:

If I was richer, I'd be able to afford a better car.

AND:

He spends as though he were the richest man in the world.

NOT:

He spends as though he was the richest man in the world.

ALSO (present tense):

If I be the one to fulfill the prophecy, then let it be so, but if not, then let another step forth before I fail.

NOT:

If I am the one to fulfill the prophecy, then let it be so, but if not, then let another step forth before I fail.

Finally, the present tense third person singular of all verbs drops the “s” or “es” ending when the subjunctive tense is used.

FOR EXAMPLE:

I suggested that she give as much to the cause as possible.

NOT:

I suggested that she gives as much to the cause as possible.

AND:

I would prefer that each waitress pool her tips with the others, so as to be evenly divided at the end of the day.

NOT:

I would prefer that each waitress pools her tips with the others, so as to be evenly divided at the end of the day.

According to Englishplus.com, the following verbs are often "followed by clauses that take the subjunctive:"

ask, demand, determine, insist, move, order, pray, prefer, recommend, regret, request, require, suggest, and wish.

It is also important to note that only subordinate clauses may be subjunctive.

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