Search options (Page 40 of 47)

Cool beans.

Available 2/13/15.
http://janettaylor-perry.blogspot.com/

Broken!!!!

Alas, I did not write St. Augustine's words. They are, indeed, beautiful. Because the independent clauses are joined by the semi-colon, it is one sentence. However, they are not SVO sentences simply because the verb "to be" is a linking verb and cannot take an object. They are SVPN sentences. When the need for flow exists, the semi-colon works miracles. In this case, the parallelism of construction offers such flow. Periods would only make the thoughts come across as choppy. I simply wanted to offer examples of long sentences that work well. I feel almost sacrilegious for dissecting such beauty.

In fiction writing, I would advise against such usage of the semi-colon.  At the most, join two parallel sentences into one using this device. And then, use it sparingly.

Another punctuation mark to avoid in fiction is the colon. Now it then it is needed, but not often.

I think one main reason to avoid these two is the fact that they are best used in very technical writing. However, they do lend themselves to the construction of long sentences. And now, I'm having a senior moment since this is not the thread about long sentences. I should go and read the article so that I can comment on Charles's thread.

Moving away from fiction, literary or otherwise, I'd like to share a couple quotes from history makers. These are long sentences, well-written and easily understood.

1. Macbeth's self-justifications were feeble – and his conscience devoured him. Yes, even Iago was a little lamb, too. The imagination and spiritual strength of Shakespeare's evildoers stopped short at a dozen corpses. Because they had no ideology. Ideology – that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination. That is the social theory which helps to make his acts seem good instead of bad in his own and others' eyes.... That was how the agents of the Inquisition fortified their wills: by invoking Christianity; the conquerors of foreign lands, by extolling the grandeur of their Motherland; the colonizers, by civilization; the Nazis, by race; and the Jacobins (early and late), by equality, brotherhood, and the happiness of future generations.... Without evildoers there would have been no Archipelago."

—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Chapter 4, p. 173, The Gulag Archipelago

2. “Temperance is love surrendering itself wholly to Him who is its object; courage is love bearing all things gladly for the sake of Him who is its object; justice is love serving only Him who is its object, and therefore rightly ruling; prudence is love making wise distinction between what hinders and what helps itself.”

--St. Augustine

In his Confessions, his entire first chapter is almost a single sentence.

I am by no means comparing myself to these men, but just pointing out that correctly constructed and properly punctuated, long sentences can be captivating.

Haven't read the article yet, Charles. Thanks for sharing though. I just cringed when I read this sentence:

Now I want to go for my second step and go to university to finish my prerequisites.

I sounds as if it's either written by a 5th grader (and that's being generous) or, more likely, someone whose first language is not English.

As a general rule, literary fiction tends to be wordier that other genres. I confess that I have to go back and cut out qualifiers, but sometimes they are necessary.

I adore love stories like Tom shared. I'll be writing a story soon entitled, Mary, Mary Quite Contrary. It's about my grandmother's life. It'll be creative non-fiction. I have to fill in the blanks since she's passed on. But her story about my grandfather was awesome. In 1914-15, her father want her to "spark" with my grandfather's brother, but she saw my grandfather and never wanted another man. Her father hated my grandfather, so his brother would pick up my grandmother and take her to meet his brother. Finally, they eloped, and when her father heard about it, he chased them through the woods with a shotgun. I guess he finally accepted the fact that they were happy. My grandfather died at the age of 52 with a heart attack. My grandmother was 48. She never married again and died two weeks shy of her 90th birthday.

I'm with John. How is pornography a crime when it's legal to produce pornographic material such as movies, magazines, etc.? And some definitely need clarification since one might interpret the word in a different way--franchise, like in businesses and gratuity as in taking a bribe and solicitation as in prostitution.

Well, Temple, the scene is hysterical. I laughed aloud. But I do hope he rode his roan. What kind of novel is this? It sounds as if it would have me rolling on the floor.

I see my little house. Thanks, Sol, for all your hard work.

JP, I figure if the box is blank, it was at least read. And it shows as having been read.

Had the same thought, John.