Prompt: Using Sentence Fragments

Sentence Fragments.

I remember having a conversation with another English teacher whilst working at a sixth form in South London about a student’s piece of creative writing for a-level and she said, ‘so we’re letting them use sentence fragments now...?’ And my response was, ‘Well, Jackie Kay does.’ (We were reading Trumpet at the time.)

I love using sentence fragments in my own writing, in fact, given that most of my work could be classed as ‘prose poetry’ they seem to appear quite a lot. They have this ability to convey an emotion or sense that feels almost impossible to put into words, or at least into any ordered sentence, anyway. 

If you’ve been a part of this space for any length of time, or have listened to the meditations and prompts on the podcast, you might have noticed that I’m big on allowing our ideas and creativity to come out as they will, and sometimes this means not fully formed or in any order. 

Sometimes putting words into an order helps to create meaning, and sometimes it detracts from it (such is the joy of sentence variation!). This, for me, is where sentence fragments can lend themselves beautifully to heightening any sense of the sublime, or awe, especially with regards to nature or our own emotions (one in the same thing, one could say!).

As I’ve suggested, you could do this with any experience you’ve had but have struggled to put into words - I find this happens a lot when in the natural world! Let the words come and don’t be constrained by sentence structure - then re-read and see if there are any changes or edits you can make to heighten meaning.

Happy writing! Helen x

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Definition: Pieces of sentences disconnected from a main clause.

Example: ‘People. Black and fast. Scattered. Watermelon seeds on a summer street.’ Maya Angelou

Why use them?

• An effective way of capturing the ineffable or sublime in nature.

• Helps express overwhelming emotions

• Heightens imagery in poetry

Try this…

• Flower petals opening at dawn

• A time you have felt overwhelm with awe/wonder