1. Week 7: Building Dramatic Sentences ENG: 3217 Creative Nonfiction

2. Sentence Structure English sentences come in four basic varieties: compound, complex, compound-complex, and simple. Each type of sentence varies in pace, rhythm, and its ability to create character. Varying sentence structure + word choice makes for great reading.

3. Sentence Structure Content affects reader, but so does rhythm, which can alter pacing and tension. Normal sentence: S + V + O – Joe hit the ball. Scrambled, creates a feeling of old-fashioned/eccentric/YODA. – Hit the ball, Joe did. Favors musicality over speech

4. Sentence Structure Simple – Joe hit the ball. Compound – Joe hit the ball, and Barb caught it. Complex – Joe hit the ball, which sailed over the outfielder’s reaching arm. Compound-Complex – Joe hit the ball, and Martin strained his arms to catch it, as it sailed into the outfield.

5. Sentence Structure Simple + Compound are paratactic = each items in the clause are given the same importance. Complex + Compound are hypotactic = some parts of the sentence are subordinate to others.

6. Sentence Structure Paratactic sentences build character because they are simple = child characters or “slow” characters, old or from the South characters. Example: Winnie the Pooh – “It’s a remarkable thing,” he said. “It is my house, and I built it where I said I did, so the wind must have blown it here. And the wind blew it right over the wood, and blew it down here, and here it is as good as ever. In fact, better in places.”

7. Sentence Structure Paratactic writing seems direct, spontaneous, and not necessarily disorganized but unorganized. If instead you want to sound (or want your character to sound) intellectual or literary, you would employ more hypotactic sentences.

8. Sentence Structure Most sentences will require variation, which allows you to control for tempo and intensity. Listen to how the following sentences build and release their tension.

9. Sentence Structure I have some of the same twinges of basic craving for those salty gnarled little nuts from Hawaii as the ones I keep ruthlessly at bay for the vulgar fried potatoes and the costly fish eggs. Just writing of my small steady passion for them makes my mouth water in a reassuringly controlled way, and I am glad there are dozens of jars of them in the local goodies shoppe, for me not to buy. I cannot remember when I first ate a Macadamia, but I was hooked from that moment. I think it was about thirty years ago. The Prince of Wales was said to have invested in a ranch in Hawaii which raised them in small quantities, so that the name stuck in my mind because he did, but I doubt that royal business cunning had much to do with my immediate delectation. The last time I ate one was about four months ago, in New York. I surprised my belle-soeur and almost embarrassed myself by letting a small moan escape me when she put a bowl of them beside my chair; they were beautiful—so lumpy, Macadamian, salty, golden! And I ate one, to save face. One.

10. Sentence Structure Nothing explicit, but the tempo is clearly shaped after erotica. Sentences 1-6 are compound. Sentence 7 is complex. Then each get shorter and shorter – until the climax – one. S 1-6 give the reader an expectation of rhythm. Breaks that rhythm for dramatic effect.

11. In Class Exercise Select an article from Creative Nonfiction magazine, the online version, found here: https://www.creativenonfiction.org. https://www.creativenonfiction.org Analyze the opening graphs. Deconstruct and identify sentence variation, making notes. What effect does the sentence variation have on the tone and intensity of the piece? Select the first three sentences and rewrite them so they conform to a sentence style other than the one written. Be prepared to read aloud. What effect does your rewrite have on the opening graphs?

12. Homework Wiki Discussion Boards Reading