Sentence Length as a Tool for Writers

One of my favorite writing tricks has to do with playing with sentence length. There are different rules about sentence length related to reading difficulty and grammar. This post isn’t about either of those though. This is more for the writer who has a good understanding of sentence structure. It’s a trick I learned in a creative writing class years ago that I still use in my writing.

Long Sentences

Long sentences are effective in a few ways. Writing a long sentence without punctuation can give the reader a sense of breathlessness. It also alters the pacing of the story. These are two elements that aren’t obvious to the reader but can impact their experience. Oddly, long sentences can either slow down the pacing or speed it up. For example, a long description of the setting in a single sentence could slow the pace. However, in dialog you could speed up the pace. Someone conveying a story without taking a breath, as indicated by lack of punctuation, would increase the rate they are speaking to get to the end. A writer can add cues for the reader indicating that the person is speaking fast, or the character can take a huge breath at the end.

Short Sentences

This is my favorite one to use. Short sentences can increase the pace of the story, but it also adds drama. Short, compact sentences add impact in a few words. Since I love this technique so much, I thought I’d share a snippet of the first story I wrote where I used this method. The first paragraph is a bit of a lead-in for context.

“They reached Michael’s apartment building, walked past the broken elevator, and trekked up six flights of stairs. He pulled his keys from his pocket and placed one into the deadbolt. Before the key was even fully inserted, the door creaked open. The wood on the door jamb was splintered and the strike plate was nothing more than twisted metal barely hanging from the door frame.

He stepped into the apartment and looked around. Empty. Furniture – gone. Photos – gone. Books, CDs, movies, decorative items – all gone. All that was left was a mattress on the living room floor. Of course, this was how his apartment had looked before the trespasser and would-be burglar made their grand entrance.

Three years, seven months, two weeks, four days, thirteen hours, and twenty-six minutes ago, Clare was killed by a drunk driver…make that twenty-seven minutes. Following her death, there were six consecutive sleepless nights where all he saw when he closed his eyes was Clare’s broken body lying on a slab in the morgue. In the light of day, he was confronted with memories of her in everything he saw. On the seventh day, Michael emptied the apartment of everything that reminded him of her. The mattress was new.”

Parting Thoughts

One note for playing with sentence length is to be intentional. At least in the editing phase, know what you’re trying to achieve with your sentence lengths. Make sure you’ve accomplished your goal. Grammar checking programs will not be happy with you. Neither will some of your editing friends. But as with any writing rule that you’re breaking, know why you’re breaking away from the norm and be able to defend your reasoning. As a creative writing teacher once said in class, “If you’re doing something weird with writing, make sure there is a reason.”