Language does not always have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes.
Stephen King in On Writing
The QWERTY Effect: How typing shapes the meanings of words
This 6-page PDF report is a really interesting read.
The mere fact that a sentence is long does not make it a run-on sentence; sentences are run-ons only when they lack proper separation between independent clauses, so the writer who is vigilant in the use of appropriate punctuation and sentence construction will violate no usage rule limiting the number of independent clauses that may be assembled in a single sentence, though stylistic concerns and a desire not to emulate the excesses of Edward Bulwer-Lytton and other profligate wordsmiths may suggest a certain prudence and counsel a sensible limitation of verbiage within the span of two periods, such as is not evidenced in this overlong, but nonetheless technically correct and run-on-free sentence.
From Wikipedia’s Run-on sentence page. Awesome.
