Klinkenborg - Several Short Sentences About Writing

...

The beautiful golden brown calico cat strolls down the dark hallway, his green eyes lighting up in the dark, while his tail waves majestically behind him.

Which one did you prefer?

I prefer the long sentence because it feels less choppy; in other words, there is more rhythm and flow to it, and less division between the details.

The choppy feeling comes from the sentence structure, as the short sentences are all written using the same format: subject-verb.

The cat is… His green eyes light… He strolls…

One possible revision for this choppy feeling would be to rewrite the sentence using a different format, one such as verb-subject.

Let’s change the last sentence to say: Waving his majestic tail, he strolls down the dark hallway.

Does that feel less choppy to you?

Slightly.

The change of formatting of the final sentence results in a less choppy feeling within the group of short sentences, however I still prefer the long sentence to the group of short ones.

Why?

The short sentences make the same statements as the long sentence, however, the long sentence is more fluid, and the continuity paints a seamless picture.

Continuity is another large part of writing that cannot be ignored.

When writing in short sentences, every period is an exacerbated pause, and every heightened pause is a separation.

Remember, separate sentences are separate ideas.

When writing long sentences, every comma is a slight pause, but not a separation.

A comma does not separate two ideas like a period does; it contributes to the flow of the sentence by separating clauses or setting off introductory or parenthetical elements.

The details about the cat are separated within the group of short sentences, whereas the long sentence groups these details into one sentence, revolving them around a single idea: the cat.

But does writing with long sentences all the time give way to a good piece?

No.

As Klinkenborg puts so elegantly: “Think about variation and rhythm…” (10).

Although Klinkenborg never expresses it in this book, variation and rhythm can come in the length of the sentences with which you write your piece.

You can begin with a few short sentences, and then vary with some longer sentences.

That is the key.

Short sentences alone can sound choppy, blunt, and unentertaining.

Remember the sentences about the golden brown calico?

But long sentences alone sound overbearing and droll.

However, long sentences coupled with short sentences make for the perfect rhythm that your reader will enjoy.

That is my entire point, and why I struggle to agree with Klinkenborg’s love of short sentences.

I do see the value of a short sentence.

They can articulate a point with clarity and eliminate ambiguity, while creating a sentence that’s straightforward and to the point.

However, I also see the value of a long sentence.

They provide continuity within an idea, and allow you to expand upon that idea without leaving the sentence.

When written together, short and long sentences can entertain each other.

They can intertwine to create a variation and rhythm that readers enjoy.

So don’t just choose between one and the other.

Examine both and decide which is appropriate for the idea you are trying to convey.

Sometimes the short sentence will be appropriate, and sometimes it will be the long.

It will take time and practice to discern between the two, and there is no written formula to decide which is better suited: that is up to you as a writer.

So disregard everything you know about writing.

Pick up Several short sentences about writing.

Read it.

Works Cited

Klinkenborg, Verlyn. Several short sentences about writing. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.