{"id":698,"date":"2014-04-15T09:25:47","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T08:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/outofthedarkness.info\/blog\/?p=698"},"modified":"2014-04-15T09:25:47","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T08:25:47","slug":"what-can-you-do-with-a-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outofthedarkness.info\/blog\/what-can-you-do-with-a-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"What Can You Do with a Sentence?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Constructing a towering epic of literature *cough* depends on the sculpting of words.<\/p><\/div>\n

Why does a later edit, where you attempt to finesse and polish a story, take so long? Because a sentence isn’t just a brick. In school, aged four and up, we start the process of building. Bricks are functional; they carry information:<\/p>\n

‘The brick is red.’<\/em><\/p>\n

Then we learn that, like basic Lego, it’s possible to do more, because words can be put together to make more complex shapes:<\/p>\n

‘Jack ran up the hill.\u00a0Jill chased after Jack.’<\/em><\/p>\n

We have a fact, a consequence and interaction, even a little intent.<\/p>\n

Then we find out that Lego’s themed\u2014Space Lego, Robin Hood Lego, Barack Obama vs David Cameron Wrestling Lego. Each set is filled with special little bits that don’t fit if you try using them with others from a different set. They stick together, but they look\u00a0odd.<\/em><\/p>\n

‘Jack crushed the trigger of his blaster, but the energy-cell was fucked. The tentacle snaked around his throat\u2014twice as thick as the one that ripped the bulkhead.<\/em><\/p>\n

And suddenly, there were flowers and a light perfume\u2014heady, dreamlike, softened images of comfort, his mother and home. Jill gave him a knowing look as she skipped ahead, spritzer in hand. \u00a0Almost giddy with confidence, she slid past him and the tentacle retreated before her.’<\/em><\/p>\n

A sentence carries character, mood, movement, possess pace and a beat. The trick is know what you want it to achieve in the context of the book, scene, and the paragraph in which it sits. Fight scenes\u2014sentences often fast, choppy, complement the action. (Write in bullet points\u2014BADUM, CHING! )\u00a0Romantic scenes can be sensual, using softer phrasing and subtle rhythms to caress feeling from the reader with the flow of word-sound.<\/p>\n

Just two examples.\u00a0The joy of writing, and the challenge, is that there are infinite possibilities. Each possibility is nuanced so that it fits a little better than the others; this one best for that, that one for this. Add the funky twist that you may be trying to achieve more than one thing with a sentence and writing, and the editing that follows, becomes\u00a0fun<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Out of the Darkness<\/em> mixes genres and so mixes styles. It’s something that will, hopefully, differentiate it from the other Elite fiction. But if it’s not going to look like an Unholy\u00a0Frank’n’furter-stein of a story, taking the time\u00a0to craft the sentences\u2014so they carry the right nuances yet still read easily\u2014is essential.<\/p>\n

\u2212\u00b1+<\/p>\n

Image Credit: ‘construction of new district’\u00a0\u00a9 UnitedIllustrators – Fotolia.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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