Writing - Little Things that Make a Big Difference: Varying Your Sentence Length and Watching Your Default Words

Hello everyone, and happy Father's Day tomorrow!

​As I recently finished working through edits for my new release - coming in September - I wanted to write about two important pieces that can change the cohesion and flow of a piece of writing. These two things can be woven into any part of the writing and editing process if you are intentional and aware of your habits. 

What are these two important pieces that can come up anywhere? Varying your sentence lengths and adjusting your default words and phrases. 

We all have our own writing styles, and there are so many things that influence the way we write and the words we use. In the end, we're all creatures of habit. However, that's not to say that we're either/or when it comes to writing quality. Sentence lengths and default words (and phrases) are things that even the most experienced writers still need to be aware of and work on. It's a process. So let's talk about them for a minute. 

I know my writing well enough to know that I have a tendency toward writing longer, compound and complex sentences. I just do. Knowing this has been advantageous for me, because I'm aware of this habit in every step of my writing process.

When I start drafting, I try to let the sentences flow as they come. I find this helps me get the story out in a more cohesive way, but I'm still mindful of the lengths of my sentences. When I rewrite, I'm ultra aware. This is an opportunity for me to pay attention to areas where I can add or alter descriptions, and it's a huge chance to make my sentences more impactful. One great way to do this is to fit sentences of various lengths in together. The shorter sentences have the most impact, but only when they're surrounded by longer sentences. If they're all short, the writing is too choppy. If they're all long - usually the case for my first drafts - then it takes so long to get your point that your reader tunes out. With every pass through my manuscript, I make a point to look at the structure and length of my sentences.

The same is true for default or habit words and phrases. This one is a bit more difficult to catch, even for more experienced authors. It's okay to say things in a certain way more than once, especially in a longer work like a novel. However, it's important to watch out for redundancies. The words we fall back on tend to take over our work, and it typically takes someone else's eye to catch these issues for us. This is one reason why having an editor is so important. 

Now, that's not to say that you can't use similar words or phrases, or that your character's can't have a thing that's habit for them. The important thing is that the wording isn't exactly the same every time. For example, in my first and second drafts of my newest novel, my characters shrugged constantly. It was that exact wording, too. Every. Single. Time. Writing the draft, I knew I was using the word frequently, but I thought, "Well, this is what I picture them doing in this moment." So I wrote it. And for the sake of drafting, that's great. Way to get the words on the page. The trouble comes when that wording doesn't change in later drafts of the story. If the wording doesn't change, your readers will likely think, "Okay, we get it. You said that already. Move on." 

So! Here is what I do: I let the words come out how they come out - mostly - on my first draft. I watch out for it in my second draft, trying to think of different ways to word the same thing. In my later drafts, I go through much more carefully. Each time I find the exact same wording, I ask myself the following questions: Is there some action or description that can replace this? If I want to keep this here, how can I change up the wording to keep it fresh? Another very helpful tool I use frequently to catch these is the "find" function in a document. This allows you to search up a word as many times as it comes up within your document. I use this often to see just how frequently I use a word or phrase, and if it's often (or even fairly close together within the piece) then I will likely make some adjustments.

These questions help me a ton in my process. Yes, it takes a high level of self awareness. Knowing my habits and my comfort zones sets me up to be able to find those kinds of things within my drafts. But I never rely totally on myself to spot these things. I always allow other people to point them out for me, because they're not as comfortable with my writing as I am. They're approaching the work from a different angle, which allows them to see things that I might never catch. 

Thanks for reading! I hope you learned something from today's piece. Check back next weekend for more writing-related things.