How to Write Using the Rhythm Method
How the Rhythm of Your Sentences Affects Reader Engagement
Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours writing an article, only to have readers ignore it.
While certainly this has a lot to do with your choice of headline and content, it’s possible your writing style may be turning off your readers.
Today we are going to look at something I’ve always done in my own writing, intuitively, but I’ve never heard it discussed or taught anywhere.
I’ve also never shared it with anyone.
It’s a technique you can use to instantly increase the readability of what you write, while also making it faster to read and easier to understand.
And provided your content is sufficiently engaging, it will also ensure your readers stay engaged until the final period.
The Foundation: Reading Flow
Have you ever noticed how some writing seems to flow effortlessly into your brain as you read, while other writing causes you a lot of stops and starts and re-reads? Or how some literature is “hard” to read, and other literature is so easy you practically burn your fingers as you turn the page?
Have you ever wondered why?
Sometimes writing is difficult-to-read because an author uses jargon or fancy words — or too many words — but more often than not it has to do with the inherent “rhythm” of the writing.
What is Writing “Rhythm?”
Writing “rhythm” is the flow of the words as they interact with punctuation, paragraphs, and meaning.
If you think of words like water flowing through a riverbed, and rocks and bends and waterfalls as punctuation and paragraph breaks, you have the right idea.
What are the elements of writing rhythm?
Your primary tools are punctuation, paragraph breaks, and how you combine them with the meaning you are trying to convey to your reader.
Let’s look at how punctuation affects the “flow” or rhythm of your sentences.
Punctuation and Rhythm
Note: You may wish to read, re-read, or even read aloud the following paragraphs, as this will help to train your inner ear to the rhythm of the words. Especially the examples marked “read aloud.”
The Period
A period represents the ending of a sentence, but also a period contains a promise: that the idea the author conveyed has completed, and the reader is expected to understand all the words before it as a unit.
When periods are used incorrectly, such as ending a sentence that does not contain a subject and a verb, it causes confusion and forces the poor reader to re-read the sentence, desperate to understand what the author meant.
Take special care with periods to ensure that the sentences they end represent a complete thought, and that you actually have a subject and a verb pair in the sentence.
Or not.
You can break grammatical rules for effect! In fact I encourage it —but only if by doing so your writing is more interesting and engaging (while remaining clear!).
The Comma
Commas represent chunks of data that go together as a unit, like the period, but they also create pauses in the flow of the sentence. Use them to control the speed of your sentences.
Read aloud:
Commas, used too often, such as in this sentence, cause a lot of unnecessary, and sometimes frustrating, pauses, in the mind of the reader. While you can, if you are careful, use a lot of commas, it is not generally recommended unless, for example, you are trying to frustrate your readers! Then, by all means, use lots of commas!
Commas should be handled with care and only to help manage the flow of the sentence. It is also easy when you have too many commas to omit a subject and a verb, creating confusion for the reader.
The Semicolon
The semicolon is a funny one; used correctly it can connect two distinct sentences that could stand alone, yet also weld them together in a more intimate way than if they were separate sentences.
Start to notice how semicolons sound to your inner reading ear; pay special attention to how the sentence flows when they are used.
Read aloud:
Using a semicolon to connect two separate sentences can be helpful, as it helps the flow of the sentence; used poorly it can confuse; used too often and the reader will get lost; it’s not pretty; and at some point even you will get confused as to what you are saying; it’s a certainty!
Semicolons can also be used to separate items in a list: numbered lists; alphabet lists; or unnumbered lists.
(Quick check: Are you reading these sentences for how they flow and sound to your inner ear?)
Parentheses
Think of parentheses like an aside in a play — when an actor turns towards the audience and makes a remark that reveals their inner thoughts or feelings (out of earshot of the other characters).
Parentheses do the same thing in writing (if not overused). With parentheses, it is the author sharing little bits of info with the reader outside the flow of the sentence (this can help to clarify a point or thought, or it can take over the sentence and make it confusing!).
You could even think of parentheses like a little bit of gossip that you are sharing with your reader — it should be juicy, interesting, but quick (or else you run the risk of confusion).
Read aloud:
Some writers like to use parentheses while right in the middle of a subject-verb pair, so for example they might (if they were not thinking of their readers) do something (like interrupting the sentence needlessly) like this!
Don’t do this!
Parentheses should be used only when you need to add a small clarifying thought within a sentence.
Remember, they are like grabbing your reader and pulling them aside and telling them something else (while you are still in the middle of another thought!). It can be difficult for a reader to retain two different thoughts at the same time before the sentence ends.
If you find yourself using a lot of parentheses, you might want to consider rewriting some of them as separate sentences (so your reader doesn’t get angry and complain to ReadersAnonymous.com).
The Dash
Dashes can be useful — for example to emphasize a point in a strong way — but like parentheses they need to be handled carefully, as they can make sentences jumbly and confusing.
Read aloud:
You can use dashes to really set off a point — notice how this sounds while you read it — and also they can help punch up a sentence. But if you use too many — and I admit it can be tempting — you might find your sentences becoming too similar.
Sentence Length
Sentence length has a huge impact on the flow and rhythm of your writing. Let’s look at it.
Short Sentences
Read aloud:
Short sentences help you share a thought quickly. They have an almost staccato-like feel to them. People tend to like to read short sentences. They are easy to digest. They are fast communicators. However you don’t want too many in a row. They can make your paragraphs choppy. So be sure to mix them with long sentences.
Use Short Sentences for Emphasis
Add a short sentence as a separate paragraph to make your points punchier, more interesting, and grab readers’ attention.
Like this!
Notice how powerful a short sentence can be when used as a tiny paragraph.
Long Sentences
Read aloud:
Long sentences have an inherent weakness: they can be hard to understand, and if you are not careful with them, they can cause confusion for the reader and also make it harder for you to write them; be careful with them.
Short and Long Sentences Together
As you can see, using just short or just long sentences is not only boring, but also stressful to read. Half the fun of writing is mixing them up!
Combining short and long sentences is a huge aspect of creating your writing rhythm, so be sure to read entire paragraphs of your own writing to see if you are using both in interesting ways.
Let’s revisit the previous short sentence example, now rewritten with a mix of short and long sentences together.
Read aloud:
Short sentences help you share a thought quickly; they have an almost staccato-like feel to them. People tend to like to read short sentences because they are easy to digest and they are fast communicators. However you don’t want too many in a row! They can make your paragraphs choppy, so be sure to mix them with long sentences.
Meaning and Rhythm
The final piece we will discuss is the content, or meaning you are trying to convey in your writing.
None of the tools of rhythm matter unless they enhance your message and make it easier to understand and read. It would make no sense to apply these tools to addresses in a phone book!
So use these tools to control the flow and feel of your ideas, to help get them across to your reader in the simplest and most powerful way.
After all, that is the whole point of writing: to convey ideas in a way that powerfully engages readers.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at the tools of rhythm that help you convey meaning to your reader in interesting ways.
The more you start to notice the rhythm of your writing, the more you will begin to develop your own style for how to use the elements of punctuation, sentence length, paragraph breaks, and meaning to help make your writing more interesting and easier to read.
Don’t be afraid to write, rewrite, and read aloud what you write so that you can hear and experience your writing rhythm. You will discover that it is one of the most powerful tools in your writing arsenal, helping you strengthen your inner voice and making your message more powerful.
Use all of these tools as an artist paints a masterpiece, for that is your birthright as an author — to bring forth your inner gold and to change the world, one reader at a time.
