5 TIPS ON WRITING WITH RYTHM

1. Alternate Sentence Length

Vary the word count for your sentences — not mathematically, not analytically, but naturally, organically. Introduce a comical character with a statement that resembles a clumsy person stumbling down a stairway — then bring the headlong descent to a sudden stop with a concise comment. Describe a tortuous bureaucratic procedure with a run-on-and-on sentence, and then figuratively snap your fingers at it with a brusque reaction.


For inspiration, listen to a musical composition, noting the variety of measures. Do the same with recordings of speeches or comedy routines, and with scenes from films or television programs (fact and fiction alike) — and, of course, with fiction and nonfiction writing.


2. Relocate Words and Phrases

English is a flexible language. Exploit that fact.Though parts of speech have set interrelationships, the relative positions of words representing the categories are negotiable. Shift words and phrases around until the parts of a sentence seem to fall into their preordained places. How? Read your writing aloud, of course.


Note, too, that writers are inclined to introduce the most important element of a sentence at the beginning; the key component should be provided early on, right? Wrong. Where does the punchline go in a joke? Correction: When you tell a joke, where’s the punchline? (Doesn’t that revision read more smoothly?)


3. Embrace Sentence Fragments

The law against incomplete sentences was repealed a long time ago. A very long time ago. As a matter of fact, there never was sucha regulation, except in the hidebound handbooks of grim grammarians. No kidding.People speak in sentence fragments and incomplete sentences all the time, and although writing, except for the most informal prose, should reflect a more carefullyconstructed communication, in all but the most formal writing, judiciously employ truncated statements. Over and out.


4. Match Rhythm to Mood

Let the length and rhythm of a sentence match the mood you wish to impart. A description of a beautiful landscape or an account of a rapturous experience should cascade like a rippling waterfall or undulate with the peaks of valleys of sensual imagery. Longer sentences punctuated with alliteration and assonance and laced with metaphors evoking physical sensations will help readers immerse themselves in the places and events you describe.


Conversely, the sentence structure describing a sequence of events in a thriller or a passagedetailing an exciting incident is probably most effective in brief bursts of short, simple words.


5. Apply Tension and Release

Many musical compositions are paced on the principle of building up to peaks of stress or emotion and a counterpointing relief from that ascent. Writing benefits from the same approach to carrying the reader along on waves of tension and release.