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Writing one sentence per line

sive.rs

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Re: Writing one sentence per line

#3
I personally use this approach but mostly because a lot of what I write ends up in a git repository and diffs make way more sense when there is only one sentence per line. I also find things much easier to manipulate in vim when sentences don't span lines.

Re: Writing one sentence per line

#4

I personally use this approach but mostly because a lot of what I write ends up in a git repository and diffs make way more sense when there is only one sentence per line. I also find things much easier to manipulate in vim when sentences don't span lines.

Vim has built-in text object for sentences. It supports sentences spanning multiple lines.

Re: Writing one sentence per line

#6
I used to do this all the time, when I worked for a Japanese company.

They used to translate my emails, "in-place," so this allowed the translators to insert a line of Kanji characters, below each of my lines.

It also taught me to be frugal in my content, but you'd never know it, reading my stuff, these days...

Re: Writing one sentence per line

#7

I personally use this approach but mostly because a lot of what I write ends up in a git repository and diffs make way more sense when there is only one sentence per line. I also find things much easier to manipulate in vim when sentences don't span lines.

> diffs make way more sense when there is only one sentence per line

I did the same thing for some time for papers at university for the same reason. It used to annoy me, because I hate to change for my tools, I rather have my tools support my workflow: There should be a nicer diff for that.

Re: Writing one sentence per line

#8
This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.

Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.

So I write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the reader’s ear. Don’t just write words. Write music.

(Gary Provost)

Re: Writing one sentence per line

#9

I personally use this approach but mostly because a lot of what I write ends up in a git repository and diffs make way more sense when there is only one sentence per line. I also find things much easier to manipulate in vim when sentences don't span lines.

Yeah, same here. If you're going to have any text commited to git, it'll work much better if it's one sentence per line. Not that git is great for prose, but it kinda does the job and I don't need to have a new tool. Hammers, nails.
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