Good writing has an irresistible rhythm and keeps your reader glued to the page. If your rhythm is staccato, you’re more likely to lose them, no matter how interesting the subject.
Here are some tips for creating an interesting rhythm that your readers will find compelling.
- Use active voice and passive voice. When writing in active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in the passive voice the subject receives the action.
Example:
- Active: Scientists
showed that deforestation could be a factor in global warming.
Passive: It was earlier shown that deforestation could be a cause in global warming.
- Combine sentence structures. Write something using only one type of sentence, and you wind up with staccato, which becomes monogamous.
Example:
- Long and short sentences (self-explanatory)
- Simple sentences, which consist of one subject and one verb (Gary threw the Frisbee.)
- Sentences that start with a pronoun, (I, he, she, they, them) or uses the name of the subject (Jennifer, William, etc.),
- Complex sentences (Even though I want to write, I can’t seem to find the time.)
- Compound Sentences (Jennifer wanted to go out for Chinese food, but I really wanted a pizza.)
When reviewing your writing or reading a book, see if you can sense the rhythm. Does it compel you to keep going? If not, you know what you can do!
Enjoy!