Today I thought I'd assign a great little exercise in sentence structure and creativity. This exercise is called one sentence stories. It's great for people who are a little longwinded or don't have a lot of time.
Now this exercise does sometimes lead to run-on sentences, and while those are not what we are going for, we are sometimes going for ridiculously long sentences that are still sentences and grammatically correct. The sentences don't have to be long though. Some of the best examples are a few words that say so much about a bigger picture.
These sentences can be funny, philosophical, introverted, social, or make you wanting more. Whatever your style, there are many ways to express yourself through one sentence stories.
Here are some examples taken from onesentence.org
I thought I was a Chinese, until I went to China.
-Sam Tan
If my writing career doesn't work out, I'll invent a cereal which is composed of only marshmallows.
-Danielle
It's never like the movies...we pulled the plug and he took two hours to die.
-La De Da
When I arrived at the memorial site, I couldn't think of anything witty or poignant to write, so I just carved 'I miss you' into the telephone pole that killed you and went home.
-Lost theories
Truly admirable friends go with you on frantic and unnecessary detours simply so you can avoid someone you probably should talk to.
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Another site which you may find interesting if you enjoy these stories is bulwer-lytton.com which is a contest site for one sentence stories. They have lots of really great and interesting one sentence stories to check out and if you like your own story, you can enter! Even if you don't win, You'll be putting something you're proud of out there and that's important.
Before I say goodbye this week, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Family can be a great inspiration for writing as can food! As a bonus exercise for this week, try writing a description for the food you'll be eating like a person who makes a menu does. I wouldn't suggest being a food critic, because some moms can hurl a turkey pretty far...
Happy novel writing month and keep writing!
Now this exercise does sometimes lead to run-on sentences, and while those are not what we are going for, we are sometimes going for ridiculously long sentences that are still sentences and grammatically correct. The sentences don't have to be long though. Some of the best examples are a few words that say so much about a bigger picture.
These sentences can be funny, philosophical, introverted, social, or make you wanting more. Whatever your style, there are many ways to express yourself through one sentence stories.
Here are some examples taken from onesentence.org
I thought I was a Chinese, until I went to China.
-Sam Tan
If my writing career doesn't work out, I'll invent a cereal which is composed of only marshmallows.
-Danielle
It's never like the movies...we pulled the plug and he took two hours to die.
-La De Da
When I arrived at the memorial site, I couldn't think of anything witty or poignant to write, so I just carved 'I miss you' into the telephone pole that killed you and went home.
-Lost theories
Truly admirable friends go with you on frantic and unnecessary detours simply so you can avoid someone you probably should talk to.
-bottom
Another site which you may find interesting if you enjoy these stories is bulwer-lytton.com which is a contest site for one sentence stories. They have lots of really great and interesting one sentence stories to check out and if you like your own story, you can enter! Even if you don't win, You'll be putting something you're proud of out there and that's important.
Before I say goodbye this week, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Family can be a great inspiration for writing as can food! As a bonus exercise for this week, try writing a description for the food you'll be eating like a person who makes a menu does. I wouldn't suggest being a food critic, because some moms can hurl a turkey pretty far...
Happy novel writing month and keep writing!
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