Free Write February 28, 2011 Two (Winter Syntax by Billy Collins)

A sentence starts out like... a good, long run.  First you start off thinking, "wow I really do not want to run three miles, but I know it is good for me and I'm at the gym so I might as well."  Then after that first lap around the track, you're off.  You let your mind roam and you think about things, while your legs just put themselves one in front of the other.  You do not even think about what you are doing physically.  All of these thoughts that you have are the sentence.  The ideas and themes in your head while you run, are the words you write or type in your sentence.  And then you finish that good, long run by sprinting to the finish, or while writing, by closing up that magnificent sentence.  The finish line is your period at the end of your sentence.  And then as you look back at your run, you congratulation yourself and think "I will run longer next time and continually get better."  This is your revision of your sentence.  Maybe you change a few things in the sentence, but in the long run your sentences will just continue to get better and better.