Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft

By: Brooks Landon, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Brooks Landon

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

Torture until chapter 11, then golden!

As is often the case in life, one must live through a bit of pain to get to the good stuff. Such is the case, I found, with this fine coarse. Everything after chapter 10 is a treasure, so live through the prior to get to the later and you won't regret it. 😊👍

Has some valuable information, but it felt a bit l

If you could sum up Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft in three words, what would they be?

Detail, extension, and retooling.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect of this lecture series is probably its initial focus on extending your sentences. It goes into great detail on the subject, and really gets you thinking about how to approach each sentence you write. Not really a huge revelation, but still really interesting, and probably something you never thought too much about.

As for the least interesting part, well that would probably be the fact that its just too long. In the second half things start to get less and less interesting, to the point where I just zoned out and stopped really paying attention.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Some people just have a natural talent for captivating an audiences attention, and professors are generally not in that camp. He did an ok job. I'm not really sure he could have done anything to make it better.

What did you learn from Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft that you would use in your daily life?

Probably nothing, that is to say unless you're a writer or have a passions for writing. I guess if you wanted to explore or expand upon your writing this may have same daily use value, but I think its more directed at people who like to write stories and what not.

Any additional comments?

If your interested in writing give it a go, you'll probably get something valuable out of it.

Good book

It is challenging to gather all the information presented in this course and the printed companion would be useful, but even so much insight is gained and I will listen to it again to fine tune my writing even further.

Too many words. Not enough Ts.

Would you try another book from The Great Courses and/or Professor Brooks Landon?

The professor talks too much. Without a course book, I found it difficult to follow him when he cited examples on building longer sentences. Oh yeah, he consistently mispronounced the word sentence as senence or sinence. It drove me up the freakin' wall.No, I wouldn't try another course with this professor.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Learn to explain his topic concisely. The prof. expressed his misgivings about The Elements of Style, a manual which teaches concise writing. He should revisit this book.

Do you think Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It needs a substitute course on the same subject with a different prof.

Excellent for "would be" authors

What made the experience of listening to Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft the most enjoyable?

It's an excellent for people who like to write, but never had the chance to actually study this craft at a college/university level. Even as a non-native english speaker, I found the class easily understandable, and most of the examples given by the teacher were clear and easy to grasp.

What other book might you compare Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft to and why?

First class-type for me. Wouldn't know.

Have you listened to any of Professor Brooks Landon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's a class. But I guess the class is divided into two main parts. The first one, more easily to catch, takes about half of the class, and teaches about cumulative sentences. It's an excellent introduction, though perhaps it's a little bit long.

The second part is an amalgamation of different styles, which might not always have a logical line to follow. Despite that, the rich examples of the professor helps the student understand many subtleties.

Any additional comments?

I had bought this class in a video format at first, and couldn't find the patience to actually sit down and simply watch.

The audio version, if you have a long road to travel, or an easy mindless commute, is perfect. You might be missing some of the more graphical elements (for example, the different sentences levels), but in general, it's easy to understand. You do need to focus, however, so if you're the type of person to easily let your mind wander by driving, for example, this might not be for you.

Good info, bit dull

I wanted to try one of these educational series books. Had some good info but over all a very hard listen.

Excellent perspective on sentence formation

What did you love best about Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft?

I loved the entire book! It made me pause and reconsider aspects of grammar instruction. As a writer, I found it to be very insightful. I believe that by using this method of sentence formation I will create sentences that are more meaningful for my readers.

What did you like best about this story?

One of the things I really liked was how the professor gave analogies and creative examples.

Have you listened to any of Professor Brooks Landon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I would suspect they are all good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to keep listening, but I needed to pause in places to consider the points and strategies that were revealed.

Any additional comments?

If you are interested in language, this is a book for you!

Nuts and Bolts

I think most people would expect this course to be half grammar class and half literary theory, and they would be right. Landon is a great presenter, clearly enthusiastic about his craft, and sounds exactly like the cultured professor of literature that he is. These lectures are perfect for people who, having composed sentences by instinct, want the improvements that come with knowing the nuts and bolts of the craft. If nothing else, I’ve been convinced that long sentences are not necessarily an affront to God.

Very informative lectures

This is a collection of college level lectures by an English professor. Very well spoken and thought out, if you like listening to lectures about English language theory.
The subject is 'sentences' - which the speaker continuously pronounces "sinnances." That, and how the speaker again and again deems things 'important' but pronounces it as "empordent" made me want to stop listening.

Refreshingly, creative, actionable, and informative

Even though I took this course over 15 years after professor Landon published it, it still was highly relevant to crafting vivid, compelling, personally-stylized prose. I highly recommend it for anyone working on their prose craft, especially for writers in the arts, but even for business, too.