Have you ever read a sentence and thought that is way too long? The author lost you two commas ago, and now you have to go back and read the whole thing again, to try and figure out what’s going on.
Or maybe you read a short sentence, followed by another short sentence, and another, and you’re thinking whoa, slow down.
There’s not a set rule for short or long. The sentence length you choose depends a lot on what you are trying to accomplish. There are good reasons for those long, lost me a long time ago sentences, and short, what just happened sentences. It’s up to you to decide when to use them, given the context of your writing.
What do short sentences do?
- Create tension-When an author starts using short sentences, it’s usually a sign that something is about to happen.—-The dog growled. His teeth flashed. Jake turned. It was too late.
- Call the attention of a reader to a significant detail—She walked past central park in Manhattan, with her head held high. Gorgeous woman. Long blond hair. Blue eyes. Impeccable taste.
- Present sudden events-Out-of-the-blue actions that no one was expecting.—-We sat quietly enjoying our meal at the local fast food restaurant. Boom! “What was that?” I turned to see people rushing toward the gas station up the street.
- To summarize the ideas presented in the long paragraph or sentence.
What do long sentences do?
- Develop tension-While the short sentence is imminent, culminating with the actual event being acted out, the long sentence adds to the suspense, hinting at a situation in the process of developing.
- Give vivid description-depicting a setting, love scene, or someone’s appearance.—Autumn came without special invitation, coloring the trees in orange, yellow and red, whispering the cold in our ears and hiding the warm sun rays from our eyes.
- Investigates arguments, ideas, or facts thoroughly.
Although long sentences have the smell of the old-fashioned 19 century romantic prose, the usage of the long sentence in modern creative writing has it’s place.
When it comes to writing artistic literature, fairy tales, ghost stories, or mysteries, don’t underestimate the effects of short sentences.
Hope this didn’t confuse you too much. To sum it up, there’s a time and place for everything 🙂
-Jan R
I liken sentence length to the rhythm and pacing of music. Some melodies hold their notes for longer, while others flutter like a bird in flight. One exercise I like to do is listen to lyrics in other languages, to focus on the aesthetic of the sound, without considering the meaning. By nature we tend to focus on the meaning of the words, and sometimes that distracts us from the aesthetic of sound.
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🙂 Sentence length definitely effects the pace. Thanks for stopping by!
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Sentences should vary dependent on what you intend to say. End the sentence when you feel the need to take a breath. Or when you have fully expressed what you intend to say in it.
Please check out my book The Hartnetts at Amazon.com
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Thanks Tom!
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nicely said
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Thanks! And thanks for stopping by 🙂
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Excellent examples. 🙂
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Thanks!
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Thanks 🙂
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Welcome – Interesting Post, Jan 😃
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