WRITING: Style

I note that in my recent writings, my style has changed a bit. While I still tend toward the formal and attempt proper grammar (excluding the little problem I have with verb tense)—that has always been my writing style. In real life, I may pepper you with wannas and didjas. But I have put a serious dent in my run-on sentences and see that I have managed to come up with several that are short, staccato statements that Windows Word begs me to change from fragments. True, I’ve left out some needed verbs, but is this acceptable in literature? I believe that in studying poetry last year I have picked up some good habits that help condense sentence structure and overall flow of words. Sentence length also seems to impact tone and can advance action. In my school yearbook there is a note from a fellow student “To Susie Comma,” a testimony to my paragraph-long sentences in which I offered my reader several short quick breaths by inserting commas everywhere to ensure readability without fainting from lack of oxygen. Again, I guess I’m nagging would-be writers such as I to gain a mastery of the language by constant reading, learning, and writing.