“Don’t write words, write music”

 

Recently we've been focusing on ways to craft your memoir's sentences.

Why? Because . . . 

• you want to draw your readers in,
• you want to entertain them, 
• you want them to keep reading.

We started by looking at short sentences and sentence fragments—they offer impact and punch. (Click on “Sentences are a little like purses” if you missed it.)

 

Next, we looked at using long sentences. (Click on The beauty of long sentences as well as Especially for wordsmiths, ink-slingers, and painters of words.)

 

Today we’ll look at the importance of varying sentence length—that is, writing short, simple sentences, medium-length sentences, as well as long, complex ones.

 

“Don’t write words, write music,” writes author Gary Provost. “Great writing moves you effortlessly through the words; reading becomes as quick as thought. 

“Part of mastering flow, this ‘music’ in writing, means understanding the interplay between short sentences and long sentences.”

 

Provost explains the importance of finding such harmony in his book 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing:

 

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.

 

“Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings.

 

“It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony.

 

“I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length.

 

“And sometimes when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important.

 

“So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the reader’s ear. Don’t just write words. Write music.” (100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, Gary Provost)

Monica Sharman says this about Provost's sentences, above: “See what he did there? . . . By simply varying sentence length, he gave it life.

“Hear the pulse? Don't flatline your writing. Give it a heartbeat, a rhythm, a singing pulse. Make the sentences undulate, like verdant rolling hills or sea-blue waves or a dancer’s movements.

“Then watch your story dance—or hear it sing.”

Henneke asks: “Do you know whether your writing jigs or jives? Waltzes or boogies? Struts or strolls? 

“. . . Writing can stutter and stumble. Writing can flow so softly, it almost sends you to sleep. Writing can hop and skip, putting a smile on your face.

 

“Rhythm is one of the most underrated aspects of writing. . . .

 

“Rhythm creates a mood. Rhythm can make you rush ahead, or slow you down to quietly enjoy reading. . . .

 

“In writing, rhythm is defined by punctuation and the stress patterns of words in a sentence. Long sentences sound smoother, while short sentences make your content snappier. . . .” Don’t miss Henneke’s article, Rhythm in Writing: How to Make Your Words Swing and Swirl. 

Look over your memoir’s rough draft

and analyze the way you structure and combine sentences.

String words together with rhythm, with texture.

Make ’em sing.

Read your rough draft aloud

and listen for smoothness and cadence and melody—

or thuds. Or clunks. Or choppiness.