: Re: Why don’t writers layer and number lengthy sentences? Prof. Brooks Landon, U. Iowa, Ph.D. U. Texas at Austin. Building Great Sentences: How to Write the Kinds of Sentences You Love to Read

@Pierce369

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While it is a useful tool when parsing it, such a construct damages the natural flow of prose. You say it makes it more clear, but I see something that seems forced, convoluted and distracting.

He is showing how each clause has a purpose, adding description or action, improving the sense of place. I suspect he would be horrified if someone started writing a novel in such a format.

Writers seek to involve the reader, creating that sense of immersion where time stands still and you glance up to realize you missed a meal.

Lines imply a pause or breath, a change of character or action and have meaning though subtle. Choosing to have each clause and subclause have its own line would alter the rhythm of the read - potentially making the work stutter.

In poetry, word placement on a line creates emphasis and supports the meter. Such treatment of prose would emphasize everything and lose significance.

Such formatting would interfere with immersion and seem almost a parody of modern verse.

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