Shake Things Up! Vary how you start your sentences

Good writers know to avoid boring writing.

Why choose the same words and sentence structure when the world is your oyster?!  Take time to craft your writing and consider the musicality of it.  How your writing sounds will affect your reader.  Does it sound repetitive... the same... over... and over and over???  Or does it flow with music and an intriguing rhythm??



Be daring!  Be different!

No Robot Writing!



Check out this illustration of the power of varying your sentences:



Notice a difference?!  This is an artist, taking the time to craft his writing to make sure it sounds interesting and sophisticated!



Are you a Then-aholic?  When you tell a story, is it filled with "Then this happened..." "Then this happened..."  "Then this happened..."?  If so, something as simple as a sheet of transition words and phrases may be the key.

Check out this great resource! 



First Impressions Matter:

If you need more ideas for how to structure your sentences to avoid the ever-dreaded "Robot-Writing," take a look at this resource!  There are lots of different ways to start a sentence. The trick is to learn how to use them all.   Check out some of these options and see if you can shake up your sentences by varying how you start them!  

1.  'ING' Phrase

Ex. Seizing the knife, Bryan stabbed the zombie.

Jumping up, the zombie refused to stay dead.

2. Use a verb with -ed  or an -ed phrase

Ex. Amazed, he stood stock still with his mouth wide open, like a goldfish

Surprised by all the other zombies that attacked him, Bryan screamed.

3.  Use a simile

Ex. Like bees in a hive, the zombies swarmed all over Bryan.

Like a red river, Bryan’s blood flowed out of his body.

4.  Use an adverb

Ex. Slowly, the zombies climbed off of his corpse.

Carefully, Bryan opened his now “undead” eyes.

5. Use a prepositional phrase (anything a plane can do to a cloud)

around- above - across - after - at - before - behind - below - beneath - beside - between - by - down - for - from - inside - in - near- next - of - off - over - through - to -towards - under - up - with

Ex. Around the time he was bitten, Bryan started to turn into a zombie himself.

Behind the sofa, the children huddled for fear of this new zombie.

6.  Use an AAAWWUBBIS- Although, after, as, while, when, until, because, before, if since

Ex. While he tried not to hurt anyone as a human, he killed lots of people as a zombie.

Since Bryan was so hungry now, he ate everyone in the room!  

Resources for Writing Your Short Stories

Hello, writers!

AS you continue to work on the revisions for your short story, here are some helpful resources that make writing a  whole lot easier!

First, we have a list of transition words for narrative writing.   Don't give your reader whiplash as you abruptly jump from one place or time to another.  Guide them along with transitions. Working on your organization and transitions will help your reader "see" the story better and make your writing smoother.  Try it out and see!

Secondly, we have a guide for punctuating dialogue.  It's sometimes tricky!  I get it!  You just have to learn the rules of the road here.  You can do it!  Good dialogue can drive your plot and effectively paint a picture in the head of your reader!  Show us what's going on!  Use it correctly so your dialogue can work to help your story and not confuse your reader even more.

Lastly, we address the word said.  Repeating the word said over and over again (He said. She said. We said.) can make your writing sound boring and takes away the chance to provide some specific, showing detail. Try changing some of your "saids" to more specific verbs. Check out this list of said synonyms for some ideas.

If you are interested in seeing any other tools, let me know!!

Happy writing!

Create worlds!!