An interesting exercise

Kerrybuchanan

Delusions of Grammar
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During an open session I was running earlier today, where we meet and read our work to each other via Zoom, one of the participants read a piece that sounded very strange indeed.

Now, the reader/author) has a strong French accent, so I thought it might have been that, but it seemed to be more than just syntax or emphasis on different words. The entire story was somehow out of kilter. She used the wrong words to describe every day items. Could it be because English isn't her first language?

No. It was something more than that. Something was missing, but none of us could put our finger on what it was. In the end, she had to tell us.

She'd written a 1,000-word short story without once using the letter 'E'.

Has anyone ever tried anything like this?
 
An American guy in the early 20th century wrote a whole book like this!
Gadsby

Like any constraint-based writing exercise, it seems like it could push you to think about phrasings and syntax you wouldn't have imagined before?
 

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