Run!

Today, I have a logic bomb of a topic for you. Seriously. Read-on and you’ll understand. It’s the most logical flow I could’ve taken, considering what we talked about on Monday.

Why do we need…

Run-on Sentences?

See? I told you. Monday, we talked about fragments, and why in the long run they can actually end up helping your story. So today, I’m talking about their opposite. Well, basically their opposite. English is bad about opposites, a lot of the time. At least, in grammar. We’re a little weird like that.

Moving on.

From the point of view of a reader…

I like a good run-on sentence, when it counts. It can be punchy, or weird, or show the chaos of any given moment, and that’s what makes them so cool to read. I’ll admit, once again, that if they’re everywhere they can get annoying pretty quickly, but I’ll also admit that when they’re used right, they’re so freaking cool! Like fragments, they draw attention to themselves. But unlike fragments, they’re really good at making your brain drone a little bit, and making a reader’s heart pound harder and harder until they get to the end of the sentence and find out what’s it’s leading to. Definitely something I look for, in a good book. Yeah, I realize that’s a weird thing to look for.

From the point of view of a writer…

There’s a book I wrote, I can’t tell you when it’ll be out because I have no idea, but I used run-on sentences to highlight that the character in question could not figure out what was going on or make any sense whatsoever of her surroundings, and I’ve gotten nothing but positivity out of my beta readers, in response to scenes written like that. Proof that they can be used properly, without any negative effects on the readers, convincing them to put the book down. We want them to keep reading, don’t we?

From the point of view of an editor…

Similarly to fragments, I really just want to see that you know how to use your sentences. Run-ons can be used to your advantage, but they can also be a sign of a writer who doesn’t know how to close a sentence. So, make sure you’re only using them when you need to, when it’s important to do so, and not when it’s just because you’re not sure how this sentence should end. Make sure you know your craft, all the way down to your run-ons. If you know that, you'll be a step ahead of the pack, let me tell you.

The moral of the story, once again, is that run-ons are not the enemy.

[love]

{Rani D.}