the craft. writing rhythm.

If you don’t mind, can we geek out a little bit about writing rhythm and sentence structure this week? It’s something that we do in writing, but maybe haven’t always explored. I know for me, my editor brought some things to my attention while working on my debut novel. I’ve learned so much in the editing process and I can see how much more intentional I am when self-editing now. Among many of those lessons were some things she highlighted about sentence structure.

It’s so important because it definitely is a huge factor in giving your writing a rhythm. Yes, writing has rhythm if you may not have noticed. How we decide to put sentences together, word choice, and voice all add to how our writing flows. Let’s take a look at some of the pitfalls to avoid when it comes to sentence structure.

A great opportunity for me to grow during my writing process was paying attention to how many sentences I was starting with I. Now, this isn’t normally an issue for me in other styles of writing. But when it came to writing a novel in first person, well, those “I’s” snuck up on me. In trying to talk from my character’s perspective, the “I” got a little heavy. Your work will sound hella choppy when you don’t vary your subject enough.

Example: I wanted him to look at me. I walked up and grabbed the sides of his face so that we were eye to eye. I could feel the love between us no matter how his lips betrayed me.
Better: I wanted him to look at me. When walking up to him, I grabbed the sides of his face so that we were eye to eye. The love between us radiated no matter how his lips betrayed me.

A little re-working ain’t never hurt nobody.

The next opportunity for growth for me was that my editor highlighted how I would often write compound sentences. So many of them had “and,” “or,””but,” etc. This is when you have two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. This is not inherently bad. However, just like anything, when you do it too much, it gets repetitive.

Example: The brands we worked with were seconds from dropping him and Dawn needed all hands on deck. I made sure I was always available so I didn’t have to get ready.
Better: The brands we worked with were seconds from dropping him. Dawn needed all hands on deck. I made sure I was always available so I didn’t have to get ready.

This brings me to my next point. Varying sentence lengths. In the example above, the fix was literally just splitting one sentence into two. Which gives the words a better cadence. Again, it’s a rhythm thing. When writing, everything shouldn’t be a complex compound sentence. Short sentences give urgency. While long sentences can give languid vibes. And you need them all in your work especially when you’re writing long pieces. Keep it interesting for the reader.

In addition to these concepts, things like commas can also add to rhythm. Your girl loves a comma for a pause vs. when it’s grammatically correct. There’s the em dash, the semicolon, all punctuation that also helps us in our ability to communicate with the reader.

As you're working this week, just take some time to look at your sentence structure. How is the piece flowing? What does it sound like when you read it aloud. How can you play with structure to keep your narrative intriguing?

I’ll tell you one thing, this book writing process has really shown me how much is in the editing. I always heard that and believed it. But to live it through an over 80k word project, showed me the light. Our first drafts are for us as the saying goes and then, we go to work to make it sing.

Let me know some other ways that you may work on sentence structure and rhythm either in a reply to this email or on our Slack channel!