The Mighty Word's Guide to Good Writing
Part Six - Bending the rules
A simple but striking ‘special effect’ is the use of very short sentences. In the old days of prescriptive grammar – days that some would like to bring back again – these weren’t considered ‘proper’ at all and would invite disdain from the self-appointed guardians of language. Most of us these days celebrate the fact that language is rich and fluid, and that almost any phrase following the basic rules of syntax is accepted as a sentence. For example, ‘Goal!’ and ‘Wha—?’ are sentences, just as ‘Uh uh’ and ‘Yuh huh’ are.
Comic writing is particularly at home with the ‘minor sentence’ or ‘sentence fragment’ as it is sometimes called. It can used for exclamation or for realistic, informal dialogue. It can also be used to create comic timing. Take the excerpt below, from a comic-horror story:
‘Behind Polly, as her eulogy moved into its most heartfelt section and her voice started to wobble, the lid of Uncle Pete’s coffin lifted up at the corner. Ever so slightly. Allowing a thin green vein of slime to emerge, which snaked its way down the polished mahogany.’
The minor sentence ‘Ever so slightly’ inserts a hard pause before and after it. This emphasizes the drama and significance of the strange events unfolding behind the character, giving the reader time to visualise and absorb the scene. Each morsel of information comes discretely and seems to prolong the episode, providing maximum comic effect.
Next: Weaving the web: good sequencing.
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