Having beaten the outlining aspects of writing to death, I wanted to shift over to prose in this post. According to wikipedia, prose is a form or technique of language that exhibits a natural flow of speech and grammatical structure. That ‘flow of speech’ is what I want to go over here, because it is, in my opinion, the single greatest defining factor between good writing and bad.

I’ve talked about how I talk it out before, making use of a technique where I speak while I’m writing. Besides me just being weird, I wanted to reflect on why I’ve come to take this approach and why it’s been so useful to me going forward. Reader beware: I’m going to go into some nuances that may seem trivial at first. But refining your writing is all about making little changes like these–so don’t ignore them!

What Sounds Best
Are you a pessimistic person or an optimist? It’s time to find out! Which of these sentences sounds better to you?

The glass is half full.
The glass is half empty.

You may not think it at first glance, but there’s an objectively right and wrong answer here. To understand why, we have to use our mouths. Say “half full” and “half empty” aloud and pay attention to the movements of your mouth. Did you put a pause in between ‘half’ and ‘full’? Because the first word ends and the second word starts with the ‘fffff’ sound, you need to–if you want proper enunciation, that is. Otherwise you end up saying something like “havfool”.

“Half empty” doesn’t have this problem, and you may notice that it comes out much easier and clearer without any need to pause. Say it as quickly as you can and everyone will still be able to understand you–even if they give you strange looks!

The Sentence Beat
Syllables are uninterrupted segments of speech. Like mouth movements, many readers don’t pay conscious attention to them yet they play a key role in sentence flow. Lets go over those sentences again, this time paying attention to their syllables:

The-glass-is-half-full.
The-glass-is-half-emp-ty.

Notice that every word in the first sentence is a single syllable. This produces a pounding, somewhat droning effect. It wears the reader down–if only slightly–and their subconscious knows that something’s missing: there’s no payoff. Compare this to the second sentence where the final word is the two-syllable “emp-ty”. Now that’s an exciting finale!

High Notes and Low Notes
Another reason why “empty” is such a good word to end on is that “tee” is the stressed syllable–it’s the part of the word that’s most emphasized. That’s right: even individual words have their own flow! Try saying “empty” with the emphasis on “emp” and it just won’t sound as good or as natural. It may even come across as “imp tea”!

Ending on a stressed syllable tends to add energy going into the next sentence, and in many cases that’s what you want to go for. Sentences either build or reduce energy based on multiple factors–which we’ll go into next. Just keep in mind that while all this seems insignificant and nuanced, it adds up over time.

While your readers may never be aware of it, their subconscious knows what feels good and what doesn’t!

Sentence Length
Short sentences are slow. They’re made that way. Can’t say that’s bad. Not always what you want, though. They force the reader to stop: a risky endeavor when they’re so keen on moving along. If you don’t have a good reason to slow them down, they’ll grow frustrated with you and skim right through.

Long sentences are quick, tending to have multiple commas–usually too many–and are often windy and cerebral, with lofty descriptions no one would actually say in real life but are what we’ve come to expect in narrative writing. They’re fast and if you’re not careful, they’ll leave your readers breathless. They also tend to lack emotional impact, too.

When to use which? Well, do you want your paragraph to be rising in energy or falling? Going from shorter sentences to longer builds energy and pace, while the opposite is true the other way around. Sentence variance is important to keep the reader entertained, though too much variance can feel like slamming on the breaks during a leisurely Sunday drive.

A rule of thumb is that shorter sentences make for better emotional and dramatic payoffs. They’re great for one-liners, too. Longer sentences are better suited for action sequences and descriptions: anything with multiple elements that don’t warrant individual attention from the reader.

Incorporating All This
It can seem like an overwhelming task to incorporate all these nuances into your writing. And it would be if you had to consciously think over each and every one. Luckily, our subconscious minds are amazing, and–with enough years and expertise in the English language–you’ll gain a “feel” for what sounds right and what doesn’t.

All the more reason to read your writing out loud!

These elements I’ve gone over–from syllables to sentence length–are just a handful of reasons why writers choose one sentence over another. They may not be aware of the factors that go into their subconscious decisions, as they summon sentences from out of the creative ether, but their selection and later refinement (through editing) is all based on what feels right.

I hope I was able to shed some light on what makes a sentence feel right to begin with and how important flow is into turning your prose into something worth reading. Over time, these elements I’ve mentioned will become more and more natural to you. To prove it, here’s a paragraph I wrote weeks earlier for Book 5 without thinking of anything mentioned in this post:

The navigation went well until we reached an inner garden. This was a zen garden–as opposed to the normal sort–featuring rock formations, sand and gravel. It had a glass ceiling held up by several columns and a placard I couldn’t read. I never understood the appeal of such gardens aside from them being far easier to maintain than ones with blossoms and bonsai.

 

See how the sentences go from shorter to longer? The emotional payoff peaks at the very start, with the following sentences falling in impact as if to match the narrator’s disappointment. Make no mistake: your audience feels that, too, and this stuff is vital when it comes to keeping them entertained.

Pay attention to your sentence flow and your writing will have all the ups and downs your readers crave!