| Writing Non-Fiction posted July 14, 2022 |
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trimming the fat...
The Writing Diet
by giraffmang
10 ways to streamline your sentences.
There’s a lot of flash fiction prevalent on the site at the moment. So with this in mind, here’s some ways that you can optimize your sentence structure to make the most of your flash pieces (and other writing).
1- Avoid stating the obvious. We all do this but it’s a perfect way to streamline. You don’t need to say ‘stood up’ since it would only be in very specific terms that someone would be standing down (elective position for example). We tend to use sentences such as ‘reached out his hand for a glass’, but if he’s reaching, it’s obvious he’s using his hand.
2 - Be wary of repetition. If you’ve adequately explained something in the narrative or dialogue, don’t feel the need to repeat it again a couple of sentences, paragraphs, or chapters later. Trust that the reader will remember. If it’s an oversight, you need to pick this up on the editing phase.
3 - Cut out the cliches. Cliches may not take up a lot of space, but they are deadweight and unimaginative. They add nothing new to the write and are serviceable at best. Try to either delete or re-write them in a way that brings something new and unique.
4 - Beware the beauty. We all like our beautiful prose. It can be our pride and joy, but if it isn’t moving things forward, it may need to be excised. Beauty for its own sake is an indulgence for the writer, not the story or the reader.
5 - Be careful with your punctuation. Certain articles of punctuation are part of your tool-bag, but you wouldn’t use a hammer to unscrew a screw. A good rule of thumb is that if a comma or period will do, use it. semi-colons, colons, and parenthesis have their place but frequently aren’t necessary so guard against overuse.
6 - Cut out modifiers when possible. Don’t underestimate the power of a robust verb and a good noun. If you choose the right verbs, modifiers aren’t necessary. You don’t need to pair quickly with darted or dashed as it’s inherent in the verb. You don’t need quietly with whispered. These modifiers weight down the sentence and create extra wordage.
7 - Don’t flaunt your mastery. Inflated language which is designed to demonstrate your writing prowess grates with the reader as often as impresses them. Okay so you know a lot of big, clever words, and these all have their time and place, but be mindful of using them. It’s not fun to have to be reaching for a dictionary every few minutes. This doesn’t mean you have to dumb things down but remember who your target audience is and write accordingly.
8 - Practice preciseness. Impreciseness is a minefield in writing. If you don’t know what age your character is, what hope has the reader got. ‘Somewhere in his twenties’ is a horrible description. There’s a world of difference between 21 and 29 in the real world. If your character is a foot away from something, say that, not about or around. It helps to define the scene clearly for the reader.
9 - Don’t over-explain. You may have written a great piece of dynamic prose. Let it sit with the reader. Especially if you’ve shown the action, don’t then go on the tell it as well. If you’ve created a wonderful sense of darkness and foreboding through imaginative description. Don’t round it off by stating ‘It was dark and scary.’ This is especially true for dialogue. Speech tags are a prime example of this – he purred, screeched, hissed and so on. Sometimes this is fine for tags, but don’t overdo it.
10 - Be active. Passive sentences can easily become bloated. Active sentences tend to be more concise and precise. Try to use active verbs rather than being verbs. In the editing phrase, analyse those passive sections to see if they can be written with more impact in an active manner.
10 ways to streamline your sentences.
There’s a lot of flash fiction prevalent on the site at the moment. So with this in mind, here’s some ways that you can optimize your sentence structure to make the most of your flash pieces (and other writing).
1- Avoid stating the obvious. We all do this but it’s a perfect way to streamline. You don’t need to say ‘stood up’ since it would only be in very specific terms that someone would be standing down (elective position for example). We tend to use sentences such as ‘reached out his hand for a glass’, but if he’s reaching, it’s obvious he’s using his hand.
2 - Be wary of repetition. If you’ve adequately explained something in the narrative or dialogue, don’t feel the need to repeat it again a couple of sentences, paragraphs, or chapters later. Trust that the reader will remember. If it’s an oversight, you need to pick this up on the editing phase.
3 - Cut out the cliches. Cliches may not take up a lot of space, but they are deadweight and unimaginative. They add nothing new to the write and are serviceable at best. Try to either delete or re-write them in a way that brings something new and unique.
4 - Beware the beauty. We all like our beautiful prose. It can be our pride and joy, but if it isn’t moving things forward, it may need to be excised. Beauty for its own sake is an indulgence for the writer, not the story or the reader.
5 - Be careful with your punctuation. Certain articles of punctuation are part of your tool-bag, but you wouldn’t use a hammer to unscrew a screw. A good rule of thumb is that if a comma or period will do, use it. semi-colons, colons, and parenthesis have their place but frequently aren’t necessary so guard against overuse.
6 - Cut out modifiers when possible. Don’t underestimate the power of a robust verb and a good noun. If you choose the right verbs, modifiers aren’t necessary. You don’t need to pair quickly with darted or dashed as it’s inherent in the verb. You don’t need quietly with whispered. These modifiers weight down the sentence and create extra wordage.
7 - Don’t flaunt your mastery. Inflated language which is designed to demonstrate your writing prowess grates with the reader as often as impresses them. Okay so you know a lot of big, clever words, and these all have their time and place, but be mindful of using them. It’s not fun to have to be reaching for a dictionary every few minutes. This doesn’t mean you have to dumb things down but remember who your target audience is and write accordingly.
8 - Practice preciseness. Impreciseness is a minefield in writing. If you don’t know what age your character is, what hope has the reader got. ‘Somewhere in his twenties’ is a horrible description. There’s a world of difference between 21 and 29 in the real world. If your character is a foot away from something, say that, not about or around. It helps to define the scene clearly for the reader.
9 - Don’t over-explain. You may have written a great piece of dynamic prose. Let it sit with the reader. Especially if you’ve shown the action, don’t then go on the tell it as well. If you’ve created a wonderful sense of darkness and foreboding through imaginative description. Don’t round it off by stating ‘It was dark and scary.’ This is especially true for dialogue. Speech tags are a prime example of this – he purred, screeched, hissed and so on. Sometimes this is fine for tags, but don’t overdo it.
10 - Be active. Passive sentences can easily become bloated. Active sentences tend to be more concise and precise. Try to use active verbs rather than being verbs. In the editing phrase, analyse those passive sections to see if they can be written with more impact in an active manner.
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