Do you think writing in short sentences makes the story more masculine? I just finished The Road, which is about a post nuclear, Mad max world, and lines were extremely short and sharp.
Hemingway used to write as well using very short sentences, and he's regarded as a very masculine author.
Do you consciously shorten your sentences (if you write), when you want to stress the roughness of any given passage?
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Short sentences versus long sentences.
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Active Ink Slinger
I think in this day and age of technology people want their information fast and furious.. the art of reading a book has become secondary to text speak.. a page and a half explanation of seduction has been reduced to "he fucked her".. as for myself.. not that anyone notices.. I tend to write in short bursts of thought.. now.. I.. leave.. you.. with.. that.. thought..
It's not the length of your sentence, its what you do with it.
Seriously, I am the coma and semi colon king. I go through all of my writing after the fact and simplify sentences. I have found that a word has a rhythm, a sentence has a rhythm, and so does a paragraph. A lot of the long sentences I keep are left because of sentence meter. The meter reflects the mood of a story. Some of the other longer sentences are there to give the story the right pacing or flow. I have never thought of it in terms of gender.
Seriously, I am the coma and semi colon king. I go through all of my writing after the fact and simplify sentences. I have found that a word has a rhythm, a sentence has a rhythm, and so does a paragraph. A lot of the long sentences I keep are left because of sentence meter. The meter reflects the mood of a story. Some of the other longer sentences are there to give the story the right pacing or flow. I have never thought of it in terms of gender.
The Right Rev of Lush
The avg. length of sentences in fiction has been getting shorter. Modern editors seem to prefer shorter paragraphs and sentences whenever possible. On the whole, these folks do not care for semi-colons. Their theory being since a properly used semi-colon divides two complete thoughts, it should be replaced with a period dividing two shorter sentences.
However, sentence length is, IMHO, primarily a function of the writer's style and what is being described. Here's an easy rule-of-thumb: Action scenes, such as fights, almost demand short, terse sentences to create a faster pace.Romantic/emotional/love scenes tend to work best with longer, more thoughtful sentences.
Rumple Foreskin
However, sentence length is, IMHO, primarily a function of the writer's style and what is being described. Here's an easy rule-of-thumb: Action scenes, such as fights, almost demand short, terse sentences to create a faster pace.Romantic/emotional/love scenes tend to work best with longer, more thoughtful sentences.
Rumple Foreskin
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Home of the Lush "IN" crowd: indecent, intoxicated, and insolvent
a place to gossip, share news, talk sports, pimp a story, piss & moan, or just grab a drink. Check it out.
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwords. -- ROBERT HEINLEIN
I enjoy reading longer sentences purely because I enjoy the feeling of gettting so engrossed in a story that I forget everything else. So to have shorter sentences means that I'm stopping and starting and for me that takes the enjoyment from the story.
I just think there is a need for shorter sentences where the action is and longer sentences to slow the pace down a bit.
I suppose it depends on your prefrence to reading in the first place.
I just think there is a need for shorter sentences where the action is and longer sentences to slow the pace down a bit.
I suppose it depends on your prefrence to reading in the first place.
Active Ink Slinger
In my journey to establish myself as an author (which only began a a couple years ago)... I learned a few tricks of the trade from several published authors, journalists and editors/publishers. (and a note to anyone wanting to go pro. 1.) its hard. 2.) The day you think you're good enough is the day your writing career takes an irrevocable nose-dive. You never stop learning. There is no such thing as good enough. IMHO)... anyway...
Whether or not a sentence is masculine, is more in the word choices and sentence structure (verb conjugation and crap like that). Us guys like to think it's all about length, *lol* but it's not. Word economy is one of the trademarks that separates published and unpublished. In today's market, editors look for a writer's ability to convey a story, with the least amount of words, without losing their voice or any dynamics of the manuscript. Today, they see adverbs as a bad thing. Overuse of pronouns, adjectives and adverbs are all seen as amateur mistakes. It wasn't always this way.
If you read the classics, you'll find the sentences lengths are quite different than what you'll find on the best sellers list today. Back when Hemingway, Tolstoy, Austen and other lit masters, were published, the readership was much different than it is today. But what is the same is, that what is marketable will dictate what is good writing, not what lit-snobs think is good writing. I hear authors gripe all the time about Meyers, Brown and Steele... yet, these authors railroad their way to the top sellers list, because they weave stories people enjoy. Their writing, on a technical point of view, may lack some, but they are marketable and so all other authors will be judged against them. Fair? *shrugs* .. its just the way it works.
It also depends greatly on the genre you're writing. In romance, you can get away with a lot more adverbs than you can with a thriller. Romances tend to have longer, flowing sentences: a style often referred to as 'purple prose'. Where a military action thriller, has short action sentences most of the time, and long hyper-detailed sentences when it comes to the warfare tools... etc... each genre has its own range. Each author has their own voice, but there are expectations of each that any author wishing to sell in, must try to abide as much as their voice and muse will allow.
Whether or not a sentence is masculine, is more in the word choices and sentence structure (verb conjugation and crap like that). Us guys like to think it's all about length, *lol* but it's not. Word economy is one of the trademarks that separates published and unpublished. In today's market, editors look for a writer's ability to convey a story, with the least amount of words, without losing their voice or any dynamics of the manuscript. Today, they see adverbs as a bad thing. Overuse of pronouns, adjectives and adverbs are all seen as amateur mistakes. It wasn't always this way.
If you read the classics, you'll find the sentences lengths are quite different than what you'll find on the best sellers list today. Back when Hemingway, Tolstoy, Austen and other lit masters, were published, the readership was much different than it is today. But what is the same is, that what is marketable will dictate what is good writing, not what lit-snobs think is good writing. I hear authors gripe all the time about Meyers, Brown and Steele... yet, these authors railroad their way to the top sellers list, because they weave stories people enjoy. Their writing, on a technical point of view, may lack some, but they are marketable and so all other authors will be judged against them. Fair? *shrugs* .. its just the way it works.
It also depends greatly on the genre you're writing. In romance, you can get away with a lot more adverbs than you can with a thriller. Romances tend to have longer, flowing sentences: a style often referred to as 'purple prose'. Where a military action thriller, has short action sentences most of the time, and long hyper-detailed sentences when it comes to the warfare tools... etc... each genre has its own range. Each author has their own voice, but there are expectations of each that any author wishing to sell in, must try to abide as much as their voice and muse will allow.
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