{"id":351,"date":"2017-01-31T09:51:10","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T09:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=351"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:41:22","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T15:41:22","slug":"be-a-bold-writer-sentences","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/be-a-bold-writer-sentences","title":{"rendered":"Be a Bold Writer: Sentences"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hesitant writing plagues many would-be storytellers. \u00a0Your sentences are supposed to lead your readers through a wonderful fictional experience \u2013 but who wants to follow a guide who is obviously insecure? \u00a0This article won\u2019t tell you\u00a0what<\/em>\u00a0to write, but give you tips on how to write firm, confident sentences.<\/p>\n

Do, do not just\u00a0begin to<\/em>\u00a0do<\/h2>\n

Some writers weaken their verbs by combining them with\u00a0began to\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0started to,<\/em>\u00a0such as\u00a0Claude sat down and began to eat.<\/em>\u00a0 This version is bolder:\u00a0Claude sat down and ate\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 and that\u2019s what you should choose, unless he\u2019s about to be interrupted. \u00a0Even then, instead of writing:\u00a0Claude sat down and began to eat when the siren blared outside<\/em>, you could write:\u00a0Claude sat down and took his first bite of chicken when the siren blared outside<\/em>. \u00a0Notice how the last sentence also has more specificity, another sign of confidence.<\/p>\n

Active instead of passive<\/h2>\n

Many people write:\u00a0Fred was bitten by the beagle<\/em>. \u00a0Instead consider:\u00a0The beagle bit Fred<\/em>. \u00a0Sometimes the passive approach makes more sense, for example if your story is more about Fred than the beagle then you may prefer to use the passive in this instance. \u00a0Nevertheless, I recommend making your sentences active whenever you can.<\/p>\n

Remove vague pronouns<\/h2>\n

Some writers insert\u00a0it<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0there<\/em>\u00a0unnecessarily into their sentences. \u00a0Example:\u00a0There was nothing he could do about the bad grade<\/em>. \u00a0Instead consider:\u00a0He could do nothing about the bad grade<\/em>. \u00a0Here\u2019s an example using\u00a0it<\/em>:\u00a0When in mourning, it was customary to cut off one\u2019s hair<\/em>. \u00a0Instead you could write:\u00a0When in mourning, cutting off one\u2019s hair was customary<\/em>. \u00a0Of course, exceptions exist, such as Charles Dickens\u2019s, \u201cIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Use few modals<\/h2>\n

Modal verbs express necessity or possibility; they include words such as\u00a0might<\/em>,\u00a0may<\/em>,\u00a0would<\/em>,\u00a0could<\/em>, and\u00a0must<\/em>. \u00a0When writers use these words too often, their writing is weakened. \u00a0Instead of\u00a0I suppose that would be impractical,\u00a0<\/em>write:\u00a0I suppose that\u2019s impractical.<\/em><\/p>\n

Small doses of past perfect<\/h2>\n

Most stories are told in the simple past:\u00a0Sandra ate the cookie<\/em>. \u00a0But if she ate the cookie two hours before the time that you\u2019re showing in your story, you can use the past perfect, and write:\u00a0Sandra had eaten the cookie, and didn\u2019t want anyone to know.<\/em>\u00a0 That can work well. \u00a0What doesn\u2019t work so well is a long portion of the story using the past perfect.\u00a0Sandra had eaten the cookie, because she had been hungry, even though she had known that it meant that she had been cheating on her low-carb diet.<\/em>\u00a0 Instead use the past perfect to get your readers into the prior time period, then switch to simple past:\u00a0Sandra had eaten the cookie, because she was hungry, even though she knew she was cheating on her low-carb diet.<\/em><\/p>\n

Better yet, try to keep your story from skipping around with respect to time periods. \u00a0A little bit of clock hopping keeps the story interesting; too much keeps your readers from sinking firmly into your scene. \u00a0In fact, one reason that writers sometimes do this is because they have trouble committing to a single time period: another example of hesitance.<\/p>\n

Reduce strings of prepositions<\/h2>\n

Some writers insert unnecessary prepositions into their sentences. \u00a0Patricia glanced up and over at the swan<\/em>\u00a0could be rewritten as\u00a0Patricia glanced at the swan<\/em>. \u00a0The sentence makes just as much sense without the word\u00a0over,\u00a0<\/em>and the string\u00a0up and over at<\/em>\u00a0only serves to make the sentence longer.<\/p>\n

Positive instead of negative<\/h2>\n

Some writers use negatives instead of the positives:\u00a0George did not say anything<\/em>. \u00a0Instead consider:\u00a0George was silent<\/em>. \u00a0Or, in keeping with this article:\u00a0Mary was not hesitant in her writing<\/em>\u00a0could be revised.\u00a0Mary was bold in her writing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Simple words<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re writers, with large vocabularies, but that does not mean we should show off in our stories. \u00a0I recently revised\u00a0broad thoroughfare<\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0wide street<\/em>. \u00a0Again, exceptions may be appropriate. \u00a0If the phrase is being uttered by a pedantic character, or a city planner who would use the words\u00a0broad thoroughfare\u00a0<\/em>with ease,\u00a0broad thoroughfare\u00a0<\/em>may suit.<\/p>\n

Delete insecure words and phrases<\/h2>\n

Very<\/em>,\u00a0a little bit<\/em>,\u00a0just<\/em>,\u00a0rather<\/em>,\u00a0quite<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 these qualifiers are often symptoms of hesitation, and you should take them out of your story. \u00a0Let his eyes be blue, not rather blue.<\/p>\n

Bringing it all together<\/h2>\n

These are guidelines, not hard rules, because we can all think of cases where the suggestions above should be ignored, even ignored to great effect. \u00a0However, if your writing is cluttered with examples like those above, you are writing hesitantly.<\/p>\n

Hesitation may occur when you\u2019re working on your first draft, when you\u2019re figuring out your story. \u00a0That\u2019s OK. \u00a0You may not think of a word that means\u00a0not happy<\/em>\u00a0while you\u2019re deciding how your protagonist feels. \u00a0You\u2019re too busy with what happens next. \u00a0But when you revise, delete\u00a0not happy<\/em>\u00a0and insert\u00a0sad<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Boldness in writing can be learned, or at least imitated with great success. \u00a0Give your readers the sense that you know what you\u2019re doing and they\u2019ll be more likely to follow you into the amazing story you have imagined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[11,16],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/351"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}