Searching for Pablo

Music

April 17, 2007

 

 

 

Back in college, in between bouts of clear-headedness and downright being wasted, i came across this masterpiece by Gary Provost's in his 1985 book "100 ways to improve your writing." I love how it teaches writers the importance of varying your paragraph length of your articles, not just to explain, narrate, or to investigate, but also to create music.

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.

Posted by searchingforpablo at 1:42 pm | permalink

Previous Comments

i am officially in love with your writing. now please dont be creeped out. ~_~

Posted by liz at April 17, 2007, 1:45 pm

I like this: Don’t just write words. Write music.

Posted by zarine at April 21, 2007, 12:03 am

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