|
||||||||||
|
Subscribe to the Absolute Write Newsletter and get the Agents! Agents! Agents! report free! Click here.
|
Win a 1-year subscription to Writer's Digest by subscribing to Absolute Markets-- all paying markets for your writing. Click here. |
|
| |||||||||||||
|
|
Three
Tips to Improve Your Writing Rhythm As
a professional copywriter, not only do I do a lot of writing but I also look at
a lot of writing. One of the things I've noticed that set the good/great writers
apart from the so-so is rhythm. What
I mean by rhythm is how the writing sounds. The rhythm of the words and
sentences. It's a subtle aspect of writing, one not normally talked about, but
that doesn't lessen its importance. Unfortunately,
rhythm is also tough to teach (which is probably why it isn't talked about very
much). It's something felt deep inside, like it is with music. It isn't as
straightforward as pointing out a grammar error. What makes it tougher is that
everyone has his/her own style and own unique rhythm. However, these three tips
should get you started thinking about your own writing rhythm and how to improve
it. 1.
Watch out for long sentences. In fact, you might want to consider avoiding
them altogether. There's
nothing inherently wrong with long sentences. And there are times where longer
sentences are necessary (see next tip-- but note I said longer and not long).
The problem is that long sentences have a tendency to turn into flabby
sentences. Think
of a sentence as an eel. The longer it gets, the more slippery and elusive it
becomes. Long sentences are sentences just waiting to slither away and
completely out of your control. So
what's going on with long sentences? One problem is they're tiring to read. By
the time readers reach the end of a long sentence, they've most likely forgotten
the subject/verb/point of the sentence. And they're probably too tired or too
lazy or too busy to go back to the beginning of the sentence and sort the whole
thing out. Another
problem is long sentences lack punctuation. Punctuation is a big part of rhythm.
The start and stop of a period. The bated breath of an em-dash. Think of
punctuation as your percussion section. But
when you write a long sentence, all you have to work with is the quiet sigh of
the unobtrusive comma. Yes, they have their place. But it's a subtler
instrument. (Think triangle rather than kettledrum.) A
good rule of thumb is to make sure a single sentence doesn’t
go over 30 words. If it does, strongly consider breaking it in two. Or three. 2.
Vary sentence length. In music, a steady beat is usually a good thing. In
writing, it's considered one of the deadly sins. (Okay, not really. But it still
isn't good writing.) If
every sentence is the same length, your writing is going to get pretty dull
pretty quick. You need short sentences, longer sentences (but not too long)
medium length sentences and very short sentences. How
do you know if your sentences are all the same? Does your piece sound
monotonous? Are you getting a sing-song voice in your head when you read it?
Better take a closer look at those sentence lengths. They're probably all pretty
close to being the same. 3.
Sentence fragments are a good thing. Forget your fourth-grade English
teacher. Forget that obnoxious green line in Microsoft Word telling you your
grammar is wrong. In copywriting, as well as in many other forms of writing,
sentence fragments are a lifesaver. Those fragments allow you to quickly and
easily vary your sentence length. Plus, they can help your writing sound
conversational. People talk in sentence fragments. Therefore, reading sentence
fragments gives people the impression you're talking to them-- in your own voice
and your own style. So
what's a sentence fragment? A sentence that isn't complete. It's missing
something-- noun, verb, both. Rhythm
in writing is much more than just what's going on with your sentences. (Not that
we've covered everything that goes wrong with sentences.) But it's a good place
to start. Creativity
Exercises -- Get in touch with your writing rhythm Hearing
things out loud is a good way to start getting in touch with your writing
rhythm. You may have heard of this technique to find mistakes-- and yes, it's a
good way to discover errors. But, this is also an excellent way to start getting
to know your own unique rhythm. Start
by reading your own work out loud. If you've never done this before, try not to
be too hard on yourself. Chances are you're going to discover all sorts of
problems-- including too long sentences and paragraphs where all the sentences
are the same length. Make a note of what needs fixing. Once
you fix it, read it out loud again. Then read it the original way. Listen to the
difference. Even better, try to feel the difference--
deep inside, in your gut. Our gut is an excellent rhythm sensor. You
should also read out loud things you haven't written. And read a variety of
things-- plays, novels, direct mail pieces, newspaper articles, web sites,
poems. Read bad writing and read writing that's so beautiful your knees buckle.
Listen to the rhythm while you're reading. How does it make you feel? More
importantly, how does it make your gut feel? Your gut will never lie to you--
learn to trust it. Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at www.writingusa.com. Copyright
2004 Michele Pariza Wacek. |
Sponsored links 
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer! How to find a book publisher |
Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007
Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
|
