posted
It and that that can function as pronouns. They seem nearly indistinguishable.
I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't expecting that.
I want to say that it is better for referring to things, like spoons or buildings. And that is better for more abstract things, like events or situations.
Ella ran a stop sign. That didn't work out well. Ella ran a stop sign. It was partly hidden by bushes.
Has anyone heard that rule? Does anyone follow it? Even if unconsciously? I don't know how much I can claim. It can't be too hard to check your own writing?
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In your first example, "it" seems to refer to a more general kind of thing, whereas "that" seems (to me, at least) to be more specific - and perhaps to indicate that something was expected, just not that specific something. In the "it" version, there may not have been anything expected at all.
In you second example, "that" refers more to the action of the previous sentence, but "it" refers to the object of the previous sentence.
They are sort of like apples and oranges.
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posted
Seems to me that "I wasn't expecting it," is specific to the noun it refers to, while using "that" implies that the noun is both stronger and probably not a good surprise.
But it also seems that "I wasn't expecting rain," (or whatever) is stronger and more concise, because both "it" and "that" require introduction of the subject first.
One of the last editing passes I make is to do a search for filter-words like thought, saw, etc. I also include things I tend to overuse, including, "that" and "it."
I find that I can often combine and compress, like saying, "The rain beating the crops down was unexpected, instead of first telling the reader it was happening and then telling them "it" was unexpected.
But that's just me, and I'm hardly setting the world on fire. Breaking the Pattern has been out for five days, is free, and has had a total of thirty downloads.
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But that's just me, and I'm hardly setting the world on fire. Breaking the Pattern has been out for five days, is free, and has had a total of thirty downloads.
Synopsis is not in my wheelhouse, but the cover is delightfully clever.
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