Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft

By: Brooks Landon, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Brooks Landon

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Why do some lengthy sentences flow effortlessly while others stumble along? Why are you captivated by the writing of particular authors? How can you craft sentences that reflect your unique outlook on the world?

This lively, 24-lecture course introduces you to the myriad ways in which we think about, talk about, and write sentences. Reviving the sentence-oriented approach to studying writing, Professor Landon provides a greater context for what makes sentences great - and how you can apply these methods to your own writing.

You'll look at the kernels from which sentences grow - minimal base clauses - and how adding words or phrases creates larger, cumulative sentences that lead toward great writing. You'll explore sentence constructions that make writing more complex and add exciting levels of suspense, and see tactics that create balance and rhythm.Recognizing and appreciating these and other eye-opening aspects of sentences helps you understand the work that goes into creating an effective, pleasurable sentence, which can make you more aware of why particular lines, passages, or phrases in the poems, novels, or articles you read so enchant you.

Professor Landon draws abundantly on examples from the work of brilliant writers, including Don DeLillo, Virginia Woolf, Samuel Johnson, and more. With its passionate approach to writing and reading and its indulgence in the sheer joy of language, this journey gives you unique insights into the nature of great writing-and also teaches you how you can achieve some of this greatness yourself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

I appreciate long sentences more now

I am not a writer, but I bought this book because I am curious about how writers craft sentences. As the author clarifies early in the first chapter, this book is actually about building good LONG sentences. He explains how good, long, sustaining sentences are built. He cites many good examples from current and past writers. Some of the analytical observations and technical terms used to describe certain approaches in building sentences are bit too much for me, and I somehow doubt that Hemingway and other great writers studied these technical aspects of writing, but the materials covered in this book are still fascinating to me, and I now appreciate long sentences more. One small issue for me was that it took me some time to get used to this professor's tone of voice and his accents. You might want to check out the sample to hear his voice first to see if you are comfortable listening to the sound for 12 hours.

Worth Listening To

I loved this book. Dr. Landon brings things to mind about the construction of a sentence that I had never considered before. I am very interested in writing and have done a bit of amateur writing myself. It is something I would like to do more of in the future, and having read/listened to this book, I now believe I have a better chance at being good at it.

Dr. Landon is funny and serious, having a great way about him that holds the attention, which allows the learning to take place. This book is certainly not for everyone, but even if you do not ever intend to write an interesting sentence, being a bibliophile like I am, you may like this book because of the new, more enlightened way you are bound to read books. Hahaha, my sentences are still awkward, but now I have a pattern to follow that, with practice, will help me improve.

I certainly intend to listen to more of the "Great Courses" series. What a great way to educate oneself.

I Am Not As Bad A Writer As I Thought

Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft, a course by Brooks Landon. I suppose you can determine the effectiveness of the course in direct relationship to the quality, depth, and rhythm to the interesting nature of my written communication herein, or then again not.

The learning thread communicated in the course is antitypical. It makes the case that short sentences are not necessarily superior to involved, balanced, serial and other complex sentences. I do leave the study with a pronounced feeling that it has freed me from the inane strictures of The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White; the question is will that be a good thing.

I am one of those Americans who was detrimentally harmed by a total lack of any explanation of grammar in my elementary and middle school educations. Perhaps, as a result, I had a difficult time following Professor Brooks Landon. Yet, his clear speaking, enthusiastic dialogue and make sense explanations kept me involved, and as a result, I do believe I came away with value.

Secrets of the Iowa Writer's Workshop

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Crafting sentences, until I listened to this lecture series, narrated by the entertaining and engaging Professor Brooks Landon, no longer intimidates me; furthermore, I now actively read with a greater appreciation of the skills demonstrated by our best writers.

What did you like best about this story?

A partial list of goodies: coordinate, subordinate, cumulative sentences, base phrases, first modifiers, second modifiers, third modifiers, left side and right side cumulative sentences in relation to the base phrase (it just goes on and on).

What about Professor Brooks Landon’s performance did you like?

Professor Brooks makes difficult concepts comprehensible, not only because he actually knows what he is talking about, but because his passion energizes you.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

The dot-dash Morse Code approach to reading prose.

Inspiration to think about details of writing

The lecturer departs from what I think of as the traditional to stress usefulness of writing complex sentences he refers to add Master sentences, as one moves from being an apprentice to a master by completing a masterpiece. As a listner I found his listing of many unfamiliar grammatical terms a little off-putting. Still it opens the door for further thought and learning. The PDF that accompanies the audio, as well as the host of other writers and teachers referenced promise to be a rich source for future learning.

Senneces

Great content, I have more patience than others with the long winded examples, but seriously can't listen for long periods and eventually gave up because of the mispronouncing of the word "sentence". At some point it's all I hear and it's awful. Was there no editor or anyone who could have stepped in and done something about this? Having a dialect or accent is one thing, he sounds like he's a Texan or from Tennessee, but if you glaringly mispronounce the word that is central to the content...and also insist on saying it more than necessary... You gotta find another reader. And to anyone who thinks this is an over exaggeration or someone finding something small to complain about - I promise you it's not. Purchase at your own risk.

this was such an eye opener for me

the enthusiasm in the writing and in the narration just made me love writing.. it also made me love humanity once again. this book helped me discover my assets. my greatest asset Was breaking rules. now I'll return to that habit, that asset with a new knoweldge of boundaries and HOW to actually respect them with castrating my writing. although i must say this should be treated as lectures and not as an audiobook for many reasons. PS: that "corps e in the trunk" line makes me smile like nothing else

A True Secret Toolbox

I bought and began this book with skepticism and a bit of the layman’s shoulder chip as I am a pop fiction writer and a working key tapper. It did not take long for me to feel the satisfaction of swallowing my prejudices as Mr. Landon delivers solid, sound explanations of concepts I have toyed with in my self education and used instinctively but never fully studied. No more just getting lucky, this is mindful control at the proposition level. Books like this fulfill the mission put forth by Great Courses and self education. Thanks, Dude!

mathematics for words

This book is like a math and science book for writing. It gets into terms like labyrinth sentences, cumulative syntax, subordinant clauses, and heady topics like that.

I will be honest, this one was a struggle. It took the whole month to get through, but I completed it and feel smarter for it.

If you arent into the science of how to craft a sentence the way an engineer is into the science of building a sky scraper, this isnt for you.

Top notch

The single greatest great courses series I have ever listened to. It’s practical, intellectually engaging and full of expert analysis of syntax. It helped unraveled the hidden logic of the sentences all around me