Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Don't just write words. Write music.

From 100 Ways To Improve Your Writing: Proven Professional Techniques for Writing With Style and Power by Gary Provost.
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 the 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.
There is an interesting connection between storytelling, writing and music which I have never seen explored, though I suspect there is some good material out there. Good storytelling is not just about the arc of the narrative or the vocabulary used, there is something about the modulated ebb and flow of the story, carrying it forward by keeping the mind engaged.

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