Writing Short Sentences Is Not Hard. You’re Scared.
Once Kurt Vonnegut wrote that he read a story and his favourite sentence in the entire story was “She was tired.”
The sentence, at just three words long, is not only short, it conveys a powerful emotion.
It was in an article where he was trying to teach writers how to write with style.
According to the Veteran writer, writing with style means writing short sentences. Then making it shorter. Then having the gut to cut it.
Ernest Hemingway is one of the most successful writers the world ever clapped for. He attributed his success to his ability to write short sentences.
He’s well known for saying:
“To be successful in writing, use short sentences.”
I’ve been chasing this level of chastity in my writings. To write ridiculously short sentences.
Here’s what I’ve learned about it:
Writing Short Sentences Is a Consciousness You Work Into Your Writing.
Want to write short sentences? You would have to want to write short sentences.
You have to be conscious about it. As you write, you listen to the pulses, shapes, and forms of the words you write.
You have to consciously break your thoughts and lay them out in chunks onto the page. Said differently, you write, breathe, write again, breathe again.
I usually find it hard to keep things short. Mostly when I get lost in the story.
It’s good to get lost in the story. But your sentences won’t come out short.
If you want them short, you must be in the present to control the flow. You must actively listen to the words as they play out. And then from time, not far from each other, find a good place for a full stop.
It’s Easy When You’re At Peace With the Process
Sometimes you’re not clear what you want to write.
Sometimes you’re scared of how it will read to your readers.
Sometimes you want to be the best writer on the planet.
They take away your writing peace.
Without peace, your words linger. They come out scared and blurry.
Go read the words of Hemingway or Bukowski or any of your favourite writers. You’d find writers who are at peace with their works.
The words come out easily as a result of their contentment with what they say or how they say it. They don’t write to impress. They write to express.
If you want to write short sweet sentences,
Trust What You Have To Say, Say It, and Leave.
You may not be the writer you want to be yet. But try to enjoy everything you write.
Relax.
Smile.
Take a deep breath.
And write.
While you do, keep smiling.
You’d find yourself controlling the narration, the stops, and the form.
You’re in control.
But it all begins with being at peace with yourself.
Once that is done, we can begin to talk about writing actively, eliminating filler words and discarding adverbs and adjectives.
But before then, make sure you’re at peace with yourself.
