Are short sentences "a thing" now?

[TheWritingGroup]

No, it really isn't, we just play loosey-goosey with the rules.

We almost never break the rules. We don't follow school rules all the time. You follow lots of rules you are totally unaware of.

For example: adjectival order. Ever even think about it?

Notice that in English, size comes before color, always.

"Big blue ball," never "blue big ball."

I only learned that a couple of months ago, and it's something I constantly notice.

--Annie

 

[EmmAgain]

Lots of practical wisdom here. Thank you.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Balls, big, blue.

Hello, Doctor?

 

[darwin1859]

The words and prose are (far) more important than how it looks.

Funny then that your last story has a section formatted on short lines. I think you'd agree that putting that poem into a paragraph would ruin the presentation. So, that means the presentation matters.

But you're just being difficult. I never said the words don't matter, but many posts here have sung the praises of whitespace. A "wall of text" is never a compliment.

 

[OralAllOver]

If you want long sentences .... paragraph length sometimes ... check out (library pun) Billy Bathgate by Doctorow

My comment compromises NOT a criticism. The author finely skilled and your eyed are sucked down the page by his prose

 

[Biglibido99]

I grew up in the era where books were the norm. And I find myself reading a lot of books even older than I am. It seems like sentences, even in fiction, are getting shorter and shorter. I just tried using Grammarly for the first time and it barked at me to "vary sentence length." This mirrors a general trend I've noticed - sentences have shrunk to the point where a sentence may be no more than three or four words. Is this the 160 character "twitter effect," or are attention spans getting shorter, or is it just "style?"

What? Why? Never.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Funny then that your last story has a section formatted on short lines. I think you'd agree that putting that poem into a paragraph would ruin the presentation. So, that means the presentation matters.

But you're just being difficult. I never said the words don't matter, but many posts here have sung the praises of whitespace. A "wall of text" is never a compliment.

Am I being difficult or am I making a general statement?

Or are you just nitpicking?

Either way, glad you read my piece, even if it was only to specifically find some flaw to prove that I'm wrong. (eyeroll)

 

[shakespeare_i_aint]

I was advised early on to write shorter paragraphs because many Literotica readers use their cell phones to read stories, and long paragraphs aren't popular with cell phone readers. So now my paragraphs and the sentences that comprise them are much shorter and choppier than I would prefer. I make no complaint--it is just a sign of the times.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I don't always follow the rules of grammar; I often reverse the order in dialogue, intentionally: "Me and him, did this or that." I leave out verbs in Dialogue, "How you doing?" And even was, is, are, in some sentences with other verbs when proper grammar is passive. That makes my grammar loosey-goosey.

We almost never break the rules. We don't follow school rules all the time. You follow lots of rules you are totally unaware of.

For example: adjectival order. Ever even think about it?

Notice that in English, size comes before color, always.

"Big blue ball," never "blue big ball."

I only learned that a couple of months ago, and it's something I constantly notice.

--Annie

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I don't always follow the rules of grammar; I often reverse the order in dialogue, intentionally: "Me and him, did this or that." I leave out verbs in Dialogue, "How you doing?" And even was, is, are, in some sentences with other verbs when proper grammar is passive. That makes my grammar loosey-goosey.

So true, there are no grammar rules in dialogue.

 

[MillieDynamite]

But the last part is in the description, not the dialogue.

So true, there are no grammar rules in dialogue.

 

[StillStunned]

I don't always follow the rules of grammar; I often reverse the order in dialogue, intentionally: "Me and him, did this or that." I leave out verbs in Dialogue, "How you doing?" And even was, is, are, in some sentences with other verbs when proper grammar is passive. That makes my grammar loosey-goosey.

I think fiction writing is all about creating impressions in the reader's mind. The words you choose are just a part of that; how you apply grammar is another one. More subtle, perhaps, but just as important in its own way.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

But the last part is in the description, not the dialogue.

I didn't catch the shift away from focusing on dialogue. Hmmm, but then the entire thing is rather autological; where informal grammar is concerned. I'm kind of thinking we should move it to one of the threads about AI and how to avoid getting tagged. I certainly don't see ChatGPT writing like this.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I should hope to shout, "It can't do that."

I didn't catch the shift away from focusing on dialogue. Hmmm, but then the entire thing is rather autological; where informal grammar is concerned. I'm kind of thinking we should move it to one of the threads about AI and how to avoid getting tagged. I certainly don't see ChatGPT writing like this.

 

[darwin1859]

Am I being difficult or am I making a general statement?

Or are you just nitpicking?

Either way, glad you read my piece, even if it was only to specifically find some flaw to prove that I'm wrong. (eyeroll)

Yeah, I looked at your profile to see your style. I stayed for a great story. Let the record show I thought your most recent story was very good. But I would tell you to use more whitespace...