I am frequently amazed and amused at how some writers shy away from using the period. Does it frighten them? Are they afraid that if they end a sentence, they will lose the essence of their message? On the contrary, the intent in a sentence that goes on and on is much more likely to be lost than the intent in a series of succinct, well-placed and pointed sentences.
Storytelling is a process. You rely on step-by-step momentum in order to develop your story and to carry it. When writing instructions or a self-help piece, you must use logic in presenting your material and present it so that it can be easily assimilated.
One clever little object that helps us to do this is the period. It indicates to the reader, the end of a statement, thought or bit of dialogue, for example. A story without a period, would keep readers from creating a connection to the theme, your characters and the flow of the story. He would get confused quite early on.
Commas cannot take the place of periods, nor can semi-colons or connector words such as “and,” “as,” or “so.” Try to sneak a lot of these guys into your sentences and you’re probably creating run-on sentences that go nowhere and say little.
A run-on sentence, one with more than 26 words max, it’s fragments woven together by commas and connector words, is generally so diluted by the time you finish it, and so confusing and hard to follow, that the meaning is completely lost.
Now that’s a sentence with 42 words. A bit long, don’t you think? It’s not awful, but it could be pared down and made more easily understandable.
When you write your next paragraph, article or letter, examine your sentences. Do you have any that seem terribly long? Do some of them carry on for several lines? Do you think this is okay because you’re sticking to the same topic throughout the entire sentence? Let me answer this by example. Take a look at the following sentence:
“She so wanted to have a child that, with a face flushed with embarrassment, she rushed to the front door of her apartment and, as she grabbed the doorknob with her right hand and opened it wide as she ran out the door and to the apartment next door and began ringing the bell as if she was desperate, which she was because, having a child was her destiny, or at least, she believed this and so did her parents who were pressuring her to have a child, even though she was still in her twenties and unmarried without a job or a future with a man.”
Sure, this sentence focuses on one theme, and it gives the reader some insight into the character’s situation and dilemma. But you’re asking a lot of the reader if you expect him to muddle through this mess of thoughts, facts and actions in one giant bite. Not only does this sentence include some unnecessary aspects (who cares which hand she uses to grab the doorknob?), it is terribly convoluted and downright muddy. Do I actually see writing like this in the course of my editorial work? Yes, I do. How do I handle something like this? I either break it down into reasonable bits and bites or I ask the author to do so. I suggest that she eliminate several instances of “and,” “as,” and “so,” that she write this with more clarity and that she create maybe three or four complete sentences from this one.
Don’t fear or hate the period. It is there to keep you looking good as a writer. The period is your friend. It can help you to get your point across, move or touch your readers and clarify your thoughts and ideas.
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