I appreciate the value of the boring sentence. Not, I want to stress, a lot of boring sentences. I still roll my eyes at the type of writer (mostly older white men and/or commercial fiction authors) who say things like “If it sounds like writing, I CUT IT!” or “I write simple sentences for the working man on the back of the bus.” (As if working people can’t read complex sentences?).
No, I don’t want boring writing. But what I value is the value of deploying boring sentences alongside “fireworks sentences.” How they can work together, in the context of a paragraph, a scene, a chapter, to create an even more powerful effect.
What would fireworks be without the blank black sky behind them?
Lincoln Michel The Value of Boring Sentences
Photo credit: Max Andrey on Unsplash
understatement does the same sort of thing
Yes, it’s all about the contrast – the light and the dark….
Hooray for true writing wisdom.
Agree. Not everthing we write has to be a beautifully crafted jewel…
Reblogged this on Literacy and Me.
Thanks for sharing Rae