I am studying the book, The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier: How to Solve the Mysteries of Weak Writing, by Bonnie Trenga.  These are my notes on long sentences and how to correct them.

Long Sentences and How to Correct Them

1. Instead of using and or but, create a new sentence by substituting the following words:
   1. And: “in addition,” or “also,” (also should be added within the sentence)
      1. Incorrect:  The bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of twine and began stitching it together, and he dusted off the twigs.
      2. Correct:
         1. “in addition”- The bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of twine and began stitching it together.  In addition, he dusted off the twigs.
         2. “also”- The bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of twine and began stitching it together.  He also dusted off the twigs.
   2. But:  “however”
      1. Incorrect: The bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of twine and began stitching it together, but he forgot to pick up some more twigs.
      2. Correct: The bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of twine and began stitching it together.  However, he forgot to pick up some more twigs.
   3. What out for use of these words often:
      1. Incorrect:  The bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of twine which was so big he had a hard time flying because he was a small bird, when realized after he began stitching together his nest that he forgot to pick up some more twigs.
      2. Correct: The small bird had a hard time flying to his nest with his mouth full of heavy twine.  After he began mending his nest he realized he forgot to pick up some more twigs

1. Find the MAIN IDEA and make it your 1st sentence.
2. An em dash announces a break in thought.
3. Keep the subject next to the verb, separated by no more than one extra thought.
   1. Incorrect:  The bird, with a mouth full of twine, who was small, had a hard time flying to his nest.
   2. Correct:  The small bird, with a mouth full of twine, had a hard time flying to his nest.
4. Place no more than three ideas in a sentence.
   1. One Idea:  The small bird flew to his nest.
   2. Two Ideas:  The small bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of heavy twine.
   3. Three Ideas:  The bird flew to his nest with a mouth full of heavy twine and he barely made it to his nest.

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