Creating Stronger Sentences: The Bookend Rule
Posted under: Yesterday, after reading about the 3-2-1 rule (bookend the strongest parts of the sentence, placing the weakest in the middle of the sentence), I examined the syntax of a fantastic children’s book, The Giver.
This post-apoctalypic & coming-of-age story is about a boy who learns what it is like to love and feel. The exercise I conducted was to spot the stronger and weaker parts of the sentence. Lois Lowry, the author, bookended each sentence and paragraphs with strong words. I saw this rule in action!
So now comes the job’s difficult part–execution. How do I apply that to my writing so each sentence and paragraph are strong?
I’m embracing what I’m calling Benjamin Franklin’s Philosophy of Intentional Practice. Like the founding father before me, I oured through Lois Lowry’s The Giver a couple of nights ago and titled all of her untitled chapters. The next step? Summarization. Rewriting the entire novel, like BF, also might be on the horizon. But I may want to write an original piece myself, then apply writing toolbox principles. I’m making this BF’s philosophy up on the fly, so I’m not certain yet.
The next time you’ll hear from me, my loyal but non-existent audience, I will have finished a chapter summary.
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