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Writing
I'm a senior in high school. I like to use long sentences in my writing with many commas, and I and also a big fan of the semi colon. I don't write long sentences for the sake of it, it's just something that comes naturally. However, I was told by a friend that your writing should be written as if it were being read out loud, so long sentences would not be practical and they actually hurt the writing.
Is this true?
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Not necessarily. If you're writing dialogue, or something to be read aloud, then you're looking for something with short sentences that doesn't trip up the reader.
I'm getting my degree in writing, and there are many different styles, many different voices, and many different uses for each. In playwriting you use short sentences to create a natural dialogue, because it's meant to be spoken, not read silently.
There's a difference, however, between run-on sentences and long sentences. If you look at the way I write, I'm generally long-winded myself, but none of my sentences are run-ons. Run-on sentences constitute of two or more independent clauses, connected with no punctuation.
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That might help you understand.
So really, as long as you use correct punctuation in your writing, you don't have to worry about run-on sentences. In some cultures, long sentences are customary. French writing requires them.
On the other hand, I do suggest that you read your writing aloud to check for flow, to see if it makes sense. If you have a sentence that seems to go on and on and on and on for no reason, you might want to try to break it up.
Your friend isn't totally right, but they're not totally wrong, either.
Good luck!
-Siren =)
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You friend is right. I have the same exact problem. This is called run-on sentences. It's a tough problem to fix when it comes naturally to you. What I have to do is just write it how it comes to me, then afterward read over everything and find sentences that can be broken into two, or even three, separate sentences. Good luck.
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Although part of this is a matter of opinion, I do think your friend has a point. Reading a piece aloud in a very good way to find out if the breaks and pauses are supporting the ideas and making them clear, or if it is convoluting and confusing them.
In good academic writing what kind of sentences you 'like' shouldn’t be very important. You should write the kind of sentence that best expresses the thought. A long sentence might be accurate, but it can also be muddled. Sometimes the best and most effective way to express an important idea, and to draw the reader’s attention to it, is to keep it short and simple.
Most writers could tell you that to hold a readers interest you need to vary your language and rhythm. You probably already know to try and avoid using the same word too many times close together. It’s distracting and unpleasant to read. You should consider your sentences in a similar way since reading the some type of sentence over and over again is also unpleasant. Using sentences of varying lengths is part of the way you can make your writing - not just clear - but compelling and comfortable to read.
My best advice to you would be to pick up a few of the novels you enjoy. Since you like to write in complex sentences, I imagine you read authors who write that way as well. If you pay a bit closer attention to their style I think you find even the more verbose authors will utilize the power of a short, punchy sentence when it’s called for.
I wrote in complex and compound sentences thorough most of high school. The novels I read were written that way so that was the way I naturally wrote. It was a love of poetry and the discovery of many modern writers whose structure was more poetic than prose-y that really led me to understand the power of that approach to structuring ideas. I write most of my advice in short, direct sentences because it can have so much more of an impact and can’t be as easily misunderstood.
Of course, the real trick is learning how to use the structure of your sentence to best support the thought it needs to express. If you have a habit of letting your sentences run on, then it would certainly be a good idea to work on breaking your thoughts up and highlighting key points through solid breaks, rather then partials breaks like commas and semicolons.
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