Gary Provost, quoted in Roy Peter Clark’s (terrific) Writing Tools:
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.
It’s good advice, of course, but mostly I was impressed by the execution.
File under: Music.
32 responses so far ↓
1 Nicole // Sep 30, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Fun!
2 J. Anthony Carter // Apr 29, 2011 at 11:56 am
Geez. Anyone who’s written a letter should know that.
3 Shawna // Apr 29, 2011 at 4:19 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed that. Ahaha
4 mega // Apr 30, 2011 at 4:49 am
wow, great…this is what I need
5 tykayn // Apr 30, 2011 at 7:25 pm
waw, great and funny. also nice for typographers and web designers to know
6 Pancho verdes // May 1, 2011 at 12:04 am
Six words have a different tone. they are more vivid, less sludgy. Who knows why that should be? I don’t;do you or she?
7 Bill Kenny // May 2, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Very thoughtful and thought provoking! (Oh no, that’s five words! So, too, was that sentence. And this one as well.) Seriously great stuff! Phew!
8 Derek // May 2, 2011 at 11:25 pm
That’s pretty Fancy!
9 Monica // May 3, 2011 at 2:50 am
Love it! this was so much fun to read aloud. It really came alive. Keep up the good work.
10 John Wiswell // May 3, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Inspired illustration!
11 ann-marie // May 5, 2011 at 5:47 am
Gonna use this with my students…vvv good!
12 Claire King // May 6, 2011 at 4:57 am
Showing not telling. Very smart.
13 Martha // May 6, 2011 at 5:40 am
So. It. Does.
I like this; I love when cadence carries a voice. Will tweet.
14 panos // May 9, 2011 at 12:05 pm
very good !
15 El final Danilactiano :: Esta frase tiene cinco palabras :: May :: 2011 // May 10, 2011 at 4:12 am
[...] texto es una traducción de esta página. Me ha parecido tan genial que quería compartirlo y lo he traducido de aquella manera. El original [...]
16 Bert // May 16, 2011 at 7:35 pm
This sentence no verb.
17 otto // May 22, 2011 at 5:31 am
It is so easy to be carried away by words and write long long sentences. Brevity has clarity and often the added attribute of wit. Say what you need and then shut up.
18 Gratzie « Lemons // May 26, 2011 at 10:46 am
[...] distracted, and didn’t want to write something of poor quality. I like all of my posts to be excellent. If they aren’t…. that’s bad. On that note, breaking news: the terrorist Obi-Wan [...]
19 Yitih // May 29, 2011 at 5:06 pm
That. Was. Cool.
20 Amanda // Jun 14, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I am SO using this in my freshmen composition units!!!!
21 E. T. // Jun 18, 2011 at 1:12 am
This will be used in my comp classes. Thank you!
22 Gail // Jul 18, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Amanda — make sure you spell it freshman with an “a” because it’s an adjective here, not a plural noun. Sorry…
23 lancelot // Sep 6, 2011 at 12:25 pm
NICE! I love this!
24 anon // Sep 27, 2011 at 12:40 pm
…except that the last sentence is a run-on.
25 Mike // Oct 4, 2011 at 11:29 am
The only problem
with haiku is that you just
get started and then
(Roger McGough)
26 Heather // Oct 22, 2011 at 6:36 pm
That was heady!
27 D. // Oct 25, 2011 at 7:41 am
“It’s like a stuck record” has six words.
Now try writing a sentence with a number of unmarked parentheses, notes and digressions and see if you can make it readable and euphonious.
28 Andrew // Dec 21, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Hilarious and wonderful. Thank you!
29 MadQueen // Feb 29, 2012 at 1:31 am
ahh, very cool. The delivery of an idea is just as important in effective communication as the idea itself. Sometimes perhaps even more important depending on the content and audience. Related post via iambic pentameter : http://theinfinitynetwork.org/edgar-allan-poe-evocation-of-anchors-in-poetry/ Cheers!
30 Sentence Length : neverthesameriver // Mar 25, 2012 at 7:37 pm
[...] found this today. An excellent advice on sentence length. We could all use it. Gary Provost, quoted in Roy [...]
31 Sentence Length | neverthesameriver // May 2, 2012 at 9:20 pm
[...] found this today. An excellent advice on sentence length. We could all use it. Gary Provost, quoted in Roy [...]
32 Howard Croy // Sep 23, 2012 at 6:04 pm
Write every paragraph as if you were a Penticostal preacher. Let the words sing. Drive the vouls out like the thumping of a bass drum. Every sentence must build both in content and in structure until you can deliver the meaning, the punch line , the lesson in one final rolling thunder of a sentence. Leaving your audience breathless ….