I’m going to guess that some readers still like the beauty of a well-constructed, poetic sentence…but, perhaps, sprinkled between the commonplace (reminds me of that Mozart thing… how he used “purple passages” and anchored them with the conventional)

Also, long sentences aren’t necessarily bad. They are tools. Sometimes they work great, and other times they are completely inappropriate. As an editor, I have noticed that writers often get enamored with their own elaborately constructed sentences. They love language and language tricks–and they forget that most people don’t.

For most readers, language is a means to an end. Language is for communicating ideas.

That doesn’t mean language play is bad, just that it often distracts readers.

The only place I know where language play is still allowed? Poetry. And I love it.

Looks like you practice what you preach!

Great tips, by the way, for novices. I noticed a few loooooong sentences or two in my writing. I need to rethink that.

Thanks again!

What I really wanted to say, however, is that you and the people who have commented here do a great job of modeling “good blogging” as far as I can tell. And I’ve learned a great deal by tagging along.

Some of my creative writing students I just had to encourage to write more. I think it was Winston Churchhill who said every writer has at least 500 pages of crap in them. Once we get past those 500 pages, we start to find some thoughts and perspectives worth sharing–and a voice with which to share them.

I think some of these bloggers, like my students, are somewhere around page 250. They just need to keep posting for another year before they find a rhythm. Then once they know who they are, they can begin to give themselves away.

And just to be clear, I don’t have any one of you in mind as “snobby” bloggers. : )

Michael, expert bloggers are a different category for me. Their blogs are more about information than community. That’s what I was trying to say about preacher blogs. And many of those work well–though it’s not what I think blogs do best.

Ted, I agree completely that ministry should never end with blogging. In fact, ministry should never end period. If there is ever a time when I stop serving others to honor God, I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing. That’s a high standard, I know. It’s not something I can do by my own power. I pray that God will work through me–and that I will have the courage to give him the glory rather than taking it for myself.

I keep coming back to that phrase “give God the glory.” It makes me wonder what that means exactly. Hmm.