How to Write a Novel

Chapter Nine - Sentence Length

There's a reason why writing is considered an art form. Especially writing fiction. Reading fiction requires a lot more from the reader than non-fiction. Readers not only have to think about what's being said, but they also have to create mental images, juggle characters, plots and subplots, come up with voices, anticipate what's to come, and so on.

Reading fiction is a skill, unlike reading a blog or piece of non-fiction, which tends to be more linear — you just follow along as someone tells you something. Reading fiction is often much harder to read because it requires more mental effort.

Why am I telling you this?

This is a roundabout way for me to tell you that one of your jobs as a fiction writer is to remove some of that pain. I talk at length about this in another chapter called — How to Overcome Consumption Obstruction.

Your sentences should flow effortlessly. You can achieve this in many ways such as using the right vocabulary, reduce the number of large paragraphs and chapters, have logical order of your ideas, and so on.

There's a really great quote from Gary Provost, from his book 100 Ways to Improve your Writing, which states:

"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." 

As you can see, having no variation in your sentence length can read a bit stiff or robotic, and in fact, it can be distracting. I think to be proficient at writing and storytelling, you want to create an immersive experience with as few distractions as possible. 

Your words are almost like musical score under-toning the mental picture the reader creates in their mind. If you have jarring sentence or language that lack elegance and flow, it'll take the reader out of the story, they'll put your book down, and likely never read anything by you ever again.

Play around with different sentences lengths. You can combine two sentences, cut out unnecessary words from another, have a really short sentence consisting of only one word. If done right, it can really elevate your storytelling and captivate the reader's attention. It's almost like a spell. Readers may not even be aware of what you're doing, and they couldn't necessarily explain why they like your writing, but they do. They find themselves falling deeper and deeper into your world like a trance.

You can also play around with paragraph lengths. This is something that I do. I tend to want to break up large paragraphs just so that it's easier to read and creates more white space on the page. Again, like sentences, a short paragraph consisting of only one word or a few words can have a lot of impact if done right and not overdone.

So there it is, today's writing lessons. Let me know what you think in the comments below.