Verb free sentences?

[ckatt]

So I've noticed a few folks writing sentences like Resting on the table, a ragged old book. or Across the road, a wizened oak tree. To me, this is immediately wrong because there is no verb in the sentence, but is this considered acceptable now, to drop to be out of a sentence and use a comma instead?
Personly, I think Resting on the table, a ragged old book waited. and Across the road, a wizened oak tree grew. would be better, but what do you folks think?

 

[DannMcGrew]

I'm currently reading Robert Macfarlane's Underland. He makes masterful use of "verbless" sentences in some of his descriptions. As a reader I noted that usage and even spent some time looking at how and why he did it. In his hands it works superbly.

I did note that Macfarlane usually uses a series of such sentences in a single paragraph and with them creates dramatic tension. Then he moves back to full sentences. He very obviously knows what he is doing.

I have encountered "verbless" sentences in othe books and often found it to be sloppy writing on the part of the author.

 

[J Riff]

waitaminit. -- C. Katt wandered into the deserted antechamber. His eyes picked out details in the gloom. Across the room, a wizened mummy. In the corner, a huge iron torture rack. Inside his head, grammatic phrases running around like mice on a hotplate.

 

[Plucky Novice]

I find myself doing this in my writing sometimes. It comes quite naturally but I've never been sure about it. Grammar software is never happy but then it isn't always right either. It also cuts down on the dreaded "was" which otherwise seems to proliferate my prose.

 

[Ursa major]

His eyes picked out details in the gloom. Across the room, a wizened mummy. In the corner, a huge iron torture rack.

I'd probably write this (basically, a list) as:

His eyes picked out details in the gloom: across the room, a wizened mummy; in the corner, a huge iron torture rack.​

But then I like colons and semicolons.

 

[The Judge]

You're right, these are sentence fragments and in formal writing they're to be deprecated.

However, when writing a story, anything goes -- always provided it works, (And when writing a short story with a strict word count, such as in the Challenges, verbless sentences can be vital!)

Sentence fragments don't worry me, and I use verbless sentences a lot especially when I'm in close third, but I try to ensure they're used for a purpose -- showing a character, making a list of things without a lot of interfering colons and semi-colons, giving informality to the prose where it's needed, speeding up pace by having shorter sentences -- and I also try not to overdo it.

For me, it's a question of voice, so it's not going to suit every writer, nor everything written.

 

[Finch]

You don't need to conform to all the rules of grammar when writing fiction . Which is handy for me , as I don't know what most of the rules are.
You will get the wriggly lines with word , and some Critics will point out every mistake. I personally try to be grammatically correct, but when writing dialog or narration, incorrect grammar can add to characters personality .

 

[Ursa major]

You don't need to conform to all the rules of grammar when writing fiction . Which is handy for me , as I don't know what most of the rules are.

On the other hand, it's good to know what the rules are particularly if you want to break them in order to create precisely the effect you're wanting to.

 

[J Riff]

Character thoughts allow for lots of stuff, I thought.... "Ursa entered the cave warily, looking in all directions at once, and what he saw stopped him in his tracks. A huge jar of honey. He paused, and his paws clenched involuntarily in ursine ecstasy. A huge jar of golden, dripping honey.