“Sentences are a little like purses. . . .”

Before you publish your memoir, analyze the quality of your writing. You’ll probably need to polish your skills in the craft and art of writing. To help you with that task, today we’ll look at how to fashion your sentences.

First, let’s acknowledge this:

“Very few sentences come out right the first time,

or even the second or third time.”

(William Zinsser, Writing About Your Life)

As you write, believe this:

rewriting is not punishment.

Even pros and experienced writers

revise their sentences numerous times.

For the sake of your readers, commit to crafting good sentences. Why? First, you want readers to enjoy your story and, second, you also want them to understand your message. 

“Just as there are arts of weaving and fly-fishing and dancing, so there are arts of sentence making,” write Collette and Johnson, authors of Finding Common Ground, A Guide to Personal, Professional, and Public Writing.

“. . . Writing is a partnership with the reader. . . . The way you put your stories together counts a good deal toward how your reader will understand what you say.

“You can . . . arrange, rearrange, or prearrange them to suit particular purposes.

“The writer shapes the sentence to indicate how readers should construe the meaning . . . . Building a sentence, then, is a way of defining and specifying meaning, of focusing a reader’s attention. . . .” (Collette and Johnson, Finding Common Ground; emphasis mine)

As we begin to scrutinize sentences, Bill Roorback points out that “sentences are a little like purses: They come in various sizes and can hold a little or a lot.” (Writing Life Stories)

So, let’s start by looking at those of the smaller size:

Short sentences:

“ . . . In artful prose, [sentence] length is controlled and varied. Some stylists write short sentences to strike a note of urgency.” (Joseph F. Williams, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace)

“ . . . Short sharp sentences increase tension in a scene.” (Lynda R. Young)

For example, here’s how Kristen Welch writes short sentences to express tension and urgency:

“She came to us alone, with a baby she didn’t want stirring in her womb.

“Orphaned at a young age, she wandered this earth unloved and unwanted.

“Charity came to us broken, detached, angry.

“Outwardly she pushed others away, isolating herself through pain, distancing her heart from love.

“But we loved her anyway. We set firm boundaries and we loved. We prayed. We fasted. We begged God to draw her close. We shed so many tears over this child having a child.

“We feared for her unborn son. How would this detached girl attach to a baby she never wanted?

“He was born to an angry mother. She didn’t want him.

“And we didn’t know what to do. . . .” (Kristen Welch, We Are THAT family)

Sentence fragments:

Consider writing short sentences here and there in your vignettes, but also think about writing sentence fragments—incomplete sentences and thoughts.

Grammatically, sentence fragments are incorrect, but “There are occasions when a sentence fragment can be stylistically effective, exactly what you want and no more. ‘Harrison Ford has said that he would be more than willing to take on another Indiana Jones project. In a New York Minute.’ As long as you are clearly in control of the situation, this is permissible, but [doing so] depends on the circumstances.” (CCC Foundation, emphasis mine)

Breaking the rules occasionally with sentence fragments can add punch to your writing. Or sizzle. Or grief.

Next week we’ll look at long sentences

but for now, examine your rough drafts

and look for sentences that need a little spiffing up.

Where can you write “quick, breathless utterances” (Williams),

like Kristen Welch did, to create tension,

urgency, drama, or emotion?

Where might sentence fragments

work even more effectively than complete sentences?

And throughout, ask yourself:

Will readers understand

what I’m trying to get across?

Have I written each sentence clearly?

And remember, rewriting is not punishment.

(Smile!)