Friday, October 21, 2016

Strip Clubs and Sentence Structure

Anna McCarthy, from the Just a Jesus Follower blog, says in her article "I went to a Strip Club," 
“I love people. Especially ones who are broken; it’s part of my calling. But, given what I’ve walked through, I know how fragile broken people can be.
And I know how insensitive the church can be.
And I was uneasy.
But, these weren’t just any pastors wives.
They had a vision.
One that longed to love on women that society had thrown aside.
It reminded me a lot of Jesus.
So, I jumped on it.
Their plan was to visit these clubs once a month to deliver a meal and gift baskets. I joined them the first night and I’ll be honest, I had NO IDEA what to expect.”
I love this lady’s work. She is a great example of using sentence structure to uppercut your readers right in the jaw.
 It is short.
 It is powerful.
 It takes no prisoners.
 I think her vocabulary selection, and the structure she chooses (short sentences, favoring periods) sends a more stark, blunt and precise message than if she had chosen more artsy, lengthy sentences.
 Her writing incorporates a secret element: surprise. The writing style is not what we expect. It creates interest.
I would highly recommend reading this whole article. It is worth the read. The topic of this article is about catching yourself in your own assumptions and being a better follower of Jesus. It is calling the readers out and telling them they are doing it wrong.

I think the structure of the sentences is another vehicle that drives that message home. 

2 comments:

  1. I like this style of writing. It's short and to the point. But it also gets the message across. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. The title of your post is what made me want to read it, so well done on that. But I also appreciate this style of writing as well. It is a style that if I were to read out loud, I can imagine how the author would want it read.

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