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this is one of the best pieces of prose-level writing advice i've ever encountered and i wish they'd teach it in elementary schools. i spent SO much time knowing that something like this was what was separating my writing (at the level of diction and sentence structure) from the things i loved to read but not being able to identify it; if i'd run into this it would've cracked off my power limiter in a second. transcript follows after readmore:
This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.
Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.
So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the reader’s ear. Don’t just write words. Write music.
—Gary Provost
