About GreatSentences.com
03/22/2022
This website exists for selfish reasons; to cater to my love of great sentences. With that in mind, I’m asking internet strangers to share their great sentences with me.
What makes a sentence great, you ask? A sentence is great when I deem it so – just kidding, but not really. Asking what makes a sentence great is like asking what makes a baby cute, a dish tasty, or a song beautiful. Opinions will differ. In those differences, however, commonalities may be found.
Picture, for a second, a cute and cuddly English bulldog. Now picture an ugly lump of fat called an English bulldog. Same dog; two perspectives. In either case, it grabs your attention, refusing to let go. Such is the power of a great sentence.
So, send me your great sentences. For me, it is better to read one great sentence than it is to read ten great books written in average sentences. And, yes, great books can be penned in average sentences. Such is the complexity of the art of writing.
Does size matter?
If you’re like me, you’re intimidated by the thought of writing very long sentences. You may have had it hammered into your head that there is some magical number beyond which a sentence’s word count should not go. To that, as a lover of great sentences, I say, “Pish posh!” The literary world has many examples of superbly well-written sentences of over 100 words.
Worrying about the maximum word count in a sentence is for unskilled writers. Unlike the internet’s comment section warriors, skilled writers can write long sentences without making them feel like long sentences. If you have the skill to write marathon sentences, go for it. The rest of us will stand by the sidelines and applaud your work. I will offer this word of caution, though. Much like dialogue in porn, long sentences are seldom done well. Unlike dialogue in porn, however, long sentences don’t come with a mute button. We have to labor through them and hope they get better. I’m not good at writing long, great sentences, but I can tell when yours suck. :)