For this week I am reflecting on the book by Roy Peter Clark entitled, "Writing Tools: 50 essential strategies for Every Writer".
One of the main reasons I wanted to get this book is because it was highly recommended by the amazing and talented, Stephen King. Now I see why he recommended this book. I just started on it and I began on the section the author begins as 'Tool 1 Begin sentences with subjects and verbs'.
This first chapter deals with how a writer creates a sentence with a subject and verb. Then as we all know they are followed by subordinate elements. This then leads us to what “scholars” refer to as a right-branch sentence. The way he clarifies this point is because the subject and verb of the main clause are always joined together on the left. Then the other parts of it branch to the right.
I will provide you with my own example:
(taken from my book "Closure")
The house had become a vessel of sorrow and pain.
Now here you can see She looked is to the left of the rest of the sentence which is branched to the right.
Roy Peter Clark uses a longer example taken from the New York Times which was written by Lydia Polgreen.
"Rebels seized control of Cap Haitien, Haiti’s second largest city, on Sunday, meeting little resistance as hundreds of residents cheered, burned the police station, plundered food from port warehouses and looted the airport, which was quickly closed. Police officers and armed supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled."
On here we see over 37 words and there is so much action. It can almost be too full. However, it works because the writer is guiding the reader. Lydia Polgreen captures the meaning with the first three words in her headline.
Basically, the main clause is like the locomotive that pulls all the cars all together. This makes all the difference because as Roy Clark shows us with the example of the New York Times excerpt it began with, “Rebels seized control.”
In my opinion, this can also be accomplished in a lesser manner. As you saw with the example of my "Closure" Novella.
I did not use 37 words. I established it with only 10 words. Right from this example the reader can sense something is wrong.
Furthermore, there are some examples taken from John Steinbeck’s book, "Cannery Row". Here he tells us how Steinbeck placed subject and verb at the beginning of each sentence.
Here we see a small excerpt:
"He didn’t need a clock. He had been working in a tidal pattern so long that he could feel a tide a change in his sleep."
In conclusion, in his work, Steinbeck shows the clarity of his passage. One of the best things about this first chapter is how Clark is able to show the writer and reader different ways of crafting a sentence. I felt inspired the moment I began to read his books and look forward to much more to come.
