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Sometimes four short sentences are better than a single 140-word behemoth built with creaky semicolons and sticky tape.
There are exceptions. Halfway through Patrick deWitt's first novel "Ablutions" is a sentence 207 words long that made me want to stand and cheer.
Not to be all leave-it-to-the-pros, but you do need to have certain skills to attempt a sentence of such length and hope to keep readers firmly on track.
And Michael Tomasello's book "Origins of Human Communication" has a sentence 261 words long that's more intelligible than many sentences one tenth its length.
Clarity hinges on structure and sense, and his line uses 11 semicolons – here, the right choice – to form a precisely executed parallelism.
@stancarey I wonder if he wrote it for a bet.
@psneeze Can't rule it out, but it felt natural and appropriate
@stancarey I'd like to believe the bet happened.
@psneeze I bet you would
@stancarey Shur it's Cheltenham week.