Writers must learn that they communicate more concisely and clearly if they vary their sentences.
Writing Tip for Today: Here are a few reminders on how to vary your sentences for more effective prose:
Long and Short
Sentence variation brings length to mind. If all your sentences are similar in length, the text begins to sound sing-song. Unless you’re writing limericks, you probably don’t want that—the same rhythm can lull readers to sleep. Be mindful of how a sentence sounds by reading your work aloud.
Long and short sentences can add or subtract from tension and conflict. Short punchey sentences add movement and drama to a sentence. Long clauses with commas o r semi-colons tend to slow things down. If you are writing a scene with high stakes and lots of fast action, choose shorter bursts of sentences. If you need readers to slow down and pay attention to a vista or a panoramic view of a scene, choose longer sentences.
Vary your word choices along with the sentence length. Guttural words with hard consonants (ck or or an r for instance) tend to be harsher or more emphatic than softer words such as romance language choices.
Inner and Outer
Another area to vary in sentences is where the camera goes. Be sure you weave inner and outer so that readers don’t forget the where or what to the exclusion of the why.
Understanding your character’s motivation is key to the story goal and story stakes. Avoid skimping on the inner life. By contrast, too much action can make the story feel surface and shallow. Seek to blend action, dialogue, inner thoughts and narrative so that the scene feels well-rounded.
Blend scenic paragraphs that keep readers grounded in the real time story while also deepening the meaning and motivation of the POV character. That is, avoid staying in the action too long or staying in the head or thoughts too long. Keeping a balance helps readers get a more in-depth experience.
Readers should be able to imagine your scene like a movie.
Action and Emotion
Readers must be able to imagine your scene. To do so effectively, the protagonist or POV character assesses what is happening and reacts. Then that character decides what to do next. This is called scene and sequel.
A mix of actions, reactions, dilemmas and decisions fills in the logic of the story for readers. Each time the characters decide on their next action, the story should move forward. The tension needs to build a little every time up to and including the climax.
Juggling these different types of sentences is part of learning your craft. Practice varying your sentences in these ways to build your skills. Can you think of other types of sentence variations?
