You Are Sentenced Too...

Hello Writerly Buddies,

I think that sentence openers for books are really important. They can add or take away so much from the book. Without a doubt, the most important sentences in a book are the first and last. The first decides if they're going to keep reading, the last tells them why they should keep reading past the book. In a way, the last sentence is a lot like the first sentence just in a broader scope.

So, what are the components to a good sentence?

Running on!

For one thing, you don't want run-ons. Ugh. Sends chills up writer's and reader's spines. The basic gist of a run-on sentence, is a sentence that could have ended somewhere else but didn't. Now, no one's perfect, especially not in the first draft, but we can still keep in mind some things about run-ons.

1. If it's longer than 3/4 lines, it could be a run-on

Example: 
When I left my bedroom to go downstairs to wash up for supper, I noticed a strange animal creeping across the floorboards, well, more of an insect than an animal, but our house doesn't have insects, it's perfectly clean, I thought to myself, maybe I should see where it's coming from so I can tell the maids to watch out for more. 
(Hem-hem, ^^ more like a paragraph up there)

2. If it has several verbs, it's probably a run-on
2 1/2. If it has several subjects, it could be a run-on

Example: As Billy ran through the woods, chased by Brenda, he tripped on a fallen down tree branch and skinned his knee, but that didn't stop him from running, he ran past Jimmy who was building a "fort" where he caught up with Wanda who was running from Brenda as well.


3. If I expresses more than one thought, it's probably a run on

This one doesn't really need an example, it's pretty obvious.


So you have to watch out for those run-ons.

Hyphen or the Dramatic Dots...
I find that hyphenating something--like this, or putting in the dramatic periods...like that, is a very useful tool in writing. It doesn't exactly end your sentence, but breaks it up a little without seeming to be comma overkill. They can be used in pretty much any context, and interchangeably.

Example: 
Jenny had no idea that her sister--the one that she was so close to--was a murderer.


Jenny had no idea that her sister, the one that she was so close to...was a murder. 


See?

Opening, Openly, She opened, 


Sentence openers are obviously really important. I find that the old subject sentence opener is the way to go in most books. If you look at pretty much any book, while they do vary in openers, most of them are "he", "she", or "it". I find that it's a good thing to because it doesn't take away from the story. After all, the story is the most important part, not what word you used for your sentence.

Example from "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins:


I can't guess..
So you would think...
Here's whats strange...
The main thing...
That I can...
That the question..
That if desperate..
Only not here...
It's essential...


See, they aren't,

"Essentially, I have..." you now, I find that the more complex the opener, the more boring the sentence. Except for a few exceptions (aren't I punny?)

Those are, VSS's (Very Short Sentences), Beginnings of books/chapters, Ends of books/chapters, the first word every couple paragraphs.

Happy Writing!
iGirl