Category Archives: sentence length

A Slice of Writer’s Life

BLAH, BLAH, BLOG!
Writers write. Writers should write something everyday. Yes, seven days a week and something besides checks made out to the electric company. But where do the time, the energy, and the ideas come from? Believe it or not, it’s a self-perpetuating cycle. The more you write, the more you have to write.
In my book Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity, I describe writing to be a muscle. And like the other muscles in our bodies, the writing muscle needs to be exercised and kept in tip-top shape. The writing muscle is kept well toned only by writing. The more we write, the better shape our writing muscle is and the more we have to write. See? Self-perpetuation cycle. What counts for writing exercise?

I keep my own writing muscle in shape by journaling almost everyday of the week, writing several blog posts a week, and writing book reviews for several online sites. And yes, I still have plenty of time, energy, and ideas for my historical romance novel in progress. The key is discipline and not going overboard with what you have to say in any one area. It also helps with learning key fiction elements such as pacing, passive voice, and RUE (Resisting the Urge to Explain.) My writing muscle is warmed-up by the blogs, reviews, and journal entries I write. It’s in those playing fields I am able to watch myself change and progress as a writer. This blog post today is a good example. Let me explain.
Writing blogs, journal entries, and book reviews for several years have taught me to get to the point with what I’m writing in my fiction. The reader wants to know what’s important first, not after a six or seven adverbial phrase describing every bat of the character’s eyes before they utter a word. What the character is doing is integral, but when two people are in the same room and on the same page, they need to be talking to keep the pace of the pages turning for the reader. I have also learned not to repeat what the character says with something we at IFW like to call “narrator intrusion.” Which is what I just did. I just told you something, then intruded on your thought processes by telling you what I just told you. In this fast paced world of ebooks readers want to know and get on with it. Don’t stall them. They will put your book down for good.

BLOGS
What do you say in a blog? My good writing friend Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone, The Writer’s Guide to Social Media is currently doing a fab series on what, why, and how to blog.
You will not regret subscribing to Kristen’s blog. Take my word for it. Because blogging is not only about getting the word out about you as a writer, it’s most importantly about creating community. Another change in the publishing world. Blog. It’s eventually good for your writing in sooooo many ways.
BOOK REVIEWS
I started writing book reviews because I wanted to read the books my young daughters were reading so we could have a conversation about them and so I could keep connected to their lives. They’ve grown up to be voracious readers and I still review books for kids, teens, and adults. Here’s the latest review for POSER, MY LIFE IN TWENTY-THREE POSES, Claire Dederer:

Writing book reviews keeps my writing muscle toned because it forces me to read and analyze as a reader, writer, and editor. That’s everything I am after mom, cook, laundress, etc. ugh… Anyway, book reviews aren’t exactly easy to write and the format calls for a strictly limited number of words. Again, the practice keeps my fiction writing lean and well paced. Because of reading books and writing reviews, I can almost instantly spot a mistake in my own work because my writing muscle is in tune.
By the way. Look at the top of the book review site and click on the button Review for Us and get started!
JOURNALING
Journaling is something I’ve talked about at length in the archives of this blog and my own site for Writer Wellness.

Visit and subscribe by clicking on the “subscribe” button at the top and get email alerts when I’ve posted a new blog! See? Community!

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com/.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

Be well, write well.

Joy

Copyright 2011 Joy Held. All rights reserved.

Empower Your Sentences

By Jessica Murphy

Our writing needs not only to hook our readers, but also allow them to understand and remember its information. To do so, we need to write clear, powerful sentences. Four tips will help you write readable sentences:

  1. Put the main idea in the independent clause
  2. Put the subject and verb at the beginning of the sentence
  3. Vary sentence length
  4. Avoid double negatives

Put the Main Idea in the Independent Clause

The independent clause is the strongest part of a sentence because it is complete by itself. Along the same lines, the subject and verb are the strongest parts of the independent clause. Therefore, the most important information (the main idea) belongs here.

Take the following sentence: “If you touch that wire, it will electrocute you.” The most important information is that the wire will electrocute anyone who touches it, hence why it is in the independent clause. If we buried it in the dependent clause, then the sentence structure would not properly emphasize the important information.

Also, avoid introducing sentences with passive phrases (such as “there are” or “it is”), which delay the main idea and waste space. After all, which of the following sentences conveys the important information better:



Passive: “There is a wire that will electrocute you.”

Active: “That wire will electrocute you.”

Put the Subject and Verb at the Beginning of the Sentence

The beginning of a sentence establishes the sentence’s topic. By putting the subject and verb at the beginning, you can let your readers know what to expect in the rest of the sentence. Otherwise, the delay will prevent readers from understanding the sentence and may force them to waste their time and energy rereading it:

Delayed information: “From my driveway to my front door, I was chased by wasps.”

Immediate information: “Wasps chased me from my driveway to my front door.”

This does not mean you should cut introductory phrases, which provide context: “When I mowed over their nest, the wasps chased me from my driveway to my front door.”

Vary Sentence Length

If several sentences are the same length, the monotonous rhythm will lull your readers to sleep. To fix this, vary sentence length. You can also do this to emphasize key points; following a long sentence with a short one emphasizes the latter: “As I groped in the dark, my fingertips touched something wet and hot, and the reek of copper filled my nose. Blood.” This also works with paragraph length.

Avoid Double Negatives

A double negative (e.g., “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee”) forces your readers to waste their time and effort interpreting its meaning. Instead of saying “I don’t dislike vegetables,” just say “I like vegetables.” It saves time and effort, which will keep your readers reading.

By following these tips, you will help your readers understand and remember what you write. And that’s the point of writing.

References:

Rude, Carolyn. Technical Editing. 4th ed. Longman, 2006. 254-258, 260.