Tag Archives: sentences

When Can You Get Away with Wordy Prose?

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Cat

The following comes from an email exchange between myself and John Barnes, whose story I critiqued and who has given permission to reprint the exchange 🙂 I know that this question often comes up for newer writers. They see writers who write long, elaborate sentences and wonder why they then get criticized for overly long and complicated sentences.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Looking at Description: Dorothy Dunnett

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Cat

A series that I come back to repeatedly is Dorothy Dunnett’s marvelous six-volume series The Lymond Chronicles. Dunnett has two strengths: dialogue and its accompanying actions as well as a descriptive gift that I am bitterly envious of. Right now I’m working my way through the books for a third or fourth time, and I’m midway through Book 3, The Disorderly Knights. Continue reading →

Posted in teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments