In my last post I talked about a crucial key to improving your writing—learning to incorporate four different sentence structures into your work:
· Simple sentences
· Compound sentences
· Complex sentences
· Compound complex sentences
In this post, I will share a practical example of this technique demonstrating firsthand how varying sentence structures will impact the flow of your writing and substantially enhance your skills.
I consider writing a form of music; the content should flow harmoniously, creating a pleasing melody for the reader's ear. Take the term "cadence," originating from the Latin "cadentia," meaning "a fall." Cadence refers to the rising and falling of the voice when reading literature (taken from 20 Tips for Self-Editing).
New writers tend to inadvertently fill their work with similar sounding sentences producing a monotonous reading experience. To create cadence, try weaving a mixture of the four basic sentence structures throughout your paragraphs, and observe the transformation in your prose!
MONOTONY VS. MUSIC
Consider the two passages below; read them out loud.
Notice how passage one contains sentences of similar lengths and rhythms and yields a dull tone. In contrast, the second passage employs a medley of sentence structures, resulting in a more pleasing and interesting tempo. Do you “hear” the difference?
PASSAGE 1 - (Repetitive Sentence Structures)
Odey began to growl. It was a ferocious sound from Julia’s little dog. Suddenly, she heard an odd sound. She turned to her left and her breath caught in her throat. Not far away was a large bear. Bees were flying around its head while it clawed at a tree. “Oh, Dear God,” she whispered. Just then Odey barked, and the bear turned her way. She hushed the animal, but it was too late. She wondered if she should stare the bear down or try to run. The latter would be no use. She was a fast runner but knew a brown bear could run thirty-five miles per hour. She couldn’t move anyway. She could only stare as the beast took a step toward her. It looked like it would rise on its hind legs and roar at any minute.
PASSAGE 2- (Varied Sentence Structures)
Odey began to growl, as ferocious a sound as Julia had ever heard from her Maltese. Suddenly, she heard a deep snort. Glancing to her left, she spotted a brown bear about ten yards away; bees buzzed around its head as it raked razor-sharp claws along the bark of a pine. "Oh, Dear God," she whispered. Just then Odey barked, and the bear turned her way. “Hush!” Julia spat, but it was too late. Should she stare the bear down or should she try to run? She realized the latter would be pointless—although she was a fast runner, she knew that a brown bear could run thirty-five miles per hour. She was unable to move anyway. Paralyzed with fear, she could only stare as the beast moved toward her, looking as if it would rise on its hind legs and roar at any minute.
In addition to varying sentence structures, you may have noticed a few other alterations in the second paragraph. In later posts I hope to share additional techniques for improving your writing. I hope you will check back soon!
Comments