Words are the building blocks of sentences. Sentences are the building blocks of paragraphs. Paragraphs are the building blocks of storytelling.

TIP: Paragraphs are units of thought that provide cohesion to the story. They give the reader a rest between ideas.

TIP: Very long paragraphs can be tedious. Shorter paragraphs improve readability. An endless series of single-sentence paragraphs can be annoying, however.

Be sparing. Paragraphs should be unified ideas with no wasted words. Avoid big blocks of text.

Inject variety. A variety of paragraphs will engage the reader. However, consistent use of long or short paragraphs can create a distinctive style, though that carries risks.

Be aware of effect. A long paragraph can work well as a mini-narrative or flashback, a story within the story. A short paragraph after a long one can produce surprise.

Respect rhythm. Paragraph lengths sets the tempo. The break between paragraphs are pauses. Longer paragraphs can therefore slow the story down when needed. Shorter paragraphs can speed it up, such as during a climax scene.

TRICKS: How to check your readability statistics.

Flesh Reading Ease:

Flesch-Kincaid Score:

The resulting score corresponds with U.S. grade level omprehension. A score of 6 is considered ideal.

You can check your Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid scores in Word. Highlight some text, click Review, then Spelling and Grammar, then Show Readability Statistics.

Oh dear. Somebody’s having a bad day:

Reader Ease Ideal: The Reader Ease Ideal score, promulgated by James Smith, is the Flesch score minus the Flesch-Kincaid score. Smith delineates varying Reader Ease Ideal scores with an evaluation of pacing. A score of 86+, for example, is a “breakneck pace.”

You can do this for your entire book, scene by scene (as shown in the below example covering the first 35 scenes for my novel SEPARATION) to get a pulse for your book’s pacing. You can also apply it to individual parts of your scene (beginning, middle, end). Rising pace is good toward climactic scenes. Variety is good instead of a flat band running across.

Of course, there’s something missing here in these statistics, which is quality. To be clear, these are pacing tools. How easily will the reader understand what you’re saying so they keep turning pages? Of course, the rest is up to you. What words populate these pages.

And that’s paragraphs. In my next post, we’ll talk about how to compose scenes.
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In Monday’s post, I introduced the topic of this series–building stories from the ground up observing a process–and provided some tips on words as the fundamental unit of stories.

Today, I’m going to provide a few sentences about sentences–for which words of different functionality are building blocks.

Before I continue, I wanted to give some credit where it’s due. The pointers in this series are culled from a variety of sources, but I should give special mention to three excellent books on writing craft: WRITING TOOLS by Roy Peter Clark, WRITER’S HELPER by James Smith, and STORY ENGINEERING by Larry Brooks.

Let’s begin:

The most effective sentences are short and simple.

Short sentences are more likely to achieve comprehension. But you have to know your market. Know your audience, and write to them.

“Good prose is like a window pane.” —George Orwell

James Smith (WRITER’S HELPER) provides a rule of thumb that sentences should be an average of 12 words. He recommends a maximum of 20. Twenty-five for compound sentences.

Just as sentences should be short, they should also be simple.

Smith writes: “A sentence works best when it expresses a single idea, using no more words than necessary to express that idea. The effective simple sentence states a fact, portrays an act, or paints an image.”

The sentence should contain one subject and one verb. Try to start and end the sentence with a strong word.

“Hate burned in her heart.”
“John pointed the gun.”

Use sentence fragments sparingly and for good storytelling purpose.

In the end, this is what we’re trying to avoid:

But wait, that sounds like a recipe for boring.

Imagine a novel written in five-word sentences. It’d get monotonous pretty fast. Good writing features diversity and rhythm. Rhythm and variety make the reading experience a stimulating one and engage the reader’s brain. More complex sentences enrich the story but remain economical and focused on a singular idea.

A: “The knight extended his sword toward the wizard, who grinned back at him.” (dependent clause)
B: “The knight awoke and mounted her horse.” (dependent clause)
C: “The two knights swung, and their blades rang.” (compound sentence)

Besides keeping sentences short, simple and expressed with variety and rhythm, use active voice whenever possible. Use passive intentionally and sparingly.

subject | verb | object
A: “The wizard cast his spell.” (active)
B: “The spell was cast by the wizard.” (passive)

Here, passive voice results in softer impact and 40% more words to say same thing.

Microsoft Word allows you to check passive voice in your writing. Simply select a passage of text, click “Spelling and Grammar,” click the “Show Readability Statistics” box, and click OK. It’ll show you what percentage of your text is in passive voice. You can then plot this out by section, scene, chapter or however you’d like. Below is an example for my novel SEPARATION.

And that’s a few sentences on sentences. In my next post, we’re going to talk about paragraphs.
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“Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.” —Ernest Hemingway

This week is for the writers out there. We’re going to be talking about story architecture.

The mechanics of how to build a story.

What is writing …?

Yes, writing is an artistic endeavor. We’re ripping open our souls, engaging in silent scream therapy, vomiting worlds out of our heads and all that good stuff. That being said, craft is a huge part of writing. Not just telling a good story, but telling a good story well.

“Writing” is telling a story through the medium of writing. In my view, the real art is the story. The writing is the process–artistic, yes, but a process.

Words make
Sentences make
Paragraphs make
Scenes make
Stories.

Let’s start with a few words on words. This is back to basics.

TIP: If a short, simple word will do the job, use it.

That tip is courtesy of George Orwell.

Short Saxon-based words are usually preferable to long Greek- and Latin-based. Consider these two sentences:

A: “I retrieved the cookie from the container and masticated it.”
B: “I took the cookie from the jar and ate it.”

In the second sentence, every word except one (cookie, which has 2) has one syllable. Not very fancy, but it communicates. “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” —Elmore Leonard

TIP: A surprising word that stands out can add richness to a story or express voice as long as it doesn’t overly call attention to itself.

Ideally, such a word will titillate or appeal to the senses.

A: “I took the cookie from the jar and popped it in my mouth. Ah, sweet mastication.”
B : “I took the cookie from the jar and promptly flung it in my mouth.”

Either A or B here works. The use of the adverb here sets up the odd word “flung.”

TIP: Avoid generic nouns and verbs when a more descriptive word will work.

A: “I entered the room and gave her the flowers.”
B : “I limped into the room and handed over the roses.”

While A reads very quickly, nothing pops in the imagination. In B, we have a distinctive verb, “limped,” and a distinctive noun, “roses.” The “limped” obviously means the narrator was hurt before coming into the room. “Handed over” is discordant with giving someone something special like roses. The choice of “roses” instead of “flowers” has a romantic connotation.

TIP: A well-timed adjective can appeal to the reader’s senses and make the story come alive.

A: “He picked up the sword.”
B: “He picked up the ancient sword.”
B: “He picked up the red sword.”
B: “He picked up the snarling sword.”
B: “He picked up the heavy sword.”

Each of the above changes the meaning and punches a particular human sense. The first a sense of wonder, the second a sense of sight, the third the sense of hearing (obviously this is a magical sword with a personality), the fourth the sense of touch. “Snarling” sword gives us a nice touch of alliteration, so we might prefer that to other words like growling.

TIP: Be specific when going for description, inventive when going for imagery.

Of course, the imagery must match the voice, whether it’s dialog or narration.

Here’s another tip about imagery. One way to use it is to effect imagery that supports the operating theme. So if it’s a horror story, the images could be dark. If time is an important element in the story, the author could include images of clocks, clocks ticking or toning.

TIP: Avoid dead weight words like almost, suddenly, nearly, that, of, etc.

A: “It was almost time for class.”
B : “Class started in one minute.”
A: “All of the students attended.”
B : “All the students attended.”
A: “Suddenly, the lights went out.”
B : “The lights went out.”
A: “He knew that the monster had come.”
B : “He knew the monster had come.”

Editing involves pruning.

Of course, as with other rules, they can be broken when needed, such as to create believable dialog, as this is how people talk. Or for some other emphasis. The point is 9 times out of 10, getting rid of the word will improve the story. That tenth time should be intentional because the word choice serves some purpose.

TIP: Avoid repeating a distinctive word unless it’s intentional for dialog, link paragraphs, etc.

A: “The door was ajar, so I entered. I took the cookie from the jar and ate it. The texture was odd, jarring.”
B : “Yes,” I shouted, “I ate the cookie. Not just ate it, I savored it. Savored it as if it were the last cookie on Earth. The last cookie in the galaxy. I savored each crumb.”

A is unfortunate, probably an accident but something that should be caught before the book sees the light of day.

B works, though both “cookie” and “savored” are used three times. “Savored” could be used again in the next paragraph to link them and act as a transition, as in “What I really savored was her company.” Or later in the story.

TRICKS: Use Word or Scrivener to find repeat words.

The result in Word is pretty clunky, but the result in Scrivener is fairly elegant.

And that’s it for the day. A few words on words.

Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about sentences.
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The Horror Writers Association (HWA) recently announced the Preliminary Ballot for the 2015 Bram Stoker Awards (given out in 2016). Congratulations and good luck to everybody who made the list! Some good reads here!

Superior Achievement in a Novel
Barker, Clive – The Scarlet Gospels (St. Martin’s Press)
Bates, Jeremy – The Catacombs (World’s Scariest Places: Book Two) (Ghillinnein Books)
Clines, Peter – The Fold (Crown)
Collings, Michaelbrent – The Deep (self-published)
Faherty, JG – The Cure (Samhain Publishing)
Ferrario, Keith – Monster (Samhain Publishing)
Freivald, Patrick – Black Tide (JournalStone Publishing)
Johnson, Jeremy Robert – Skullcrack City (Lazy Fascist Press)
Klavan, Andrew – Werewolf Cop (Pegasus)
Lane, Leigh M. – The Private Sector (Eldritch Press)
Talley, Brett J. – He Who Walks in Shadow (JournalStone Publishing)
Tremblay, Paul – A Head Full of Ghosts (William Morrow)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Alameda, Courtney – Shutter (Feiwel & Friends)
Cushing, Nicole – Mr. Suicide (Word Horde)
Erb, Thom – Heaven, Hell, or Houston: A Zombie Thriller (Severed Press)
Harmon, Kenneth W. – The Amazing Mr. Howard (JournalStone Publishing)
Hawkins, Scott – The Library at Mount Char (Crown)
Herrman, Heather – Consumption (Hydra)
Kirk, Brian – We Are Monsters (Samhain Publishing)
McIlveen, John – Hannahwhere (Crossroad Press)
Romines, Kyle Alexander – The Keeper of the Crows (Sunbury Press, Inc.)
Smith, John Claude – Riding the Centipede (Omnium Gatherum)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel
Brozek, Jennifer – Never Let Me Sleep (Permuted Press)
Chupeco, Rin – The Suffering (Sourcebooks Fire)
Collings, Michaelbrent – The Ridealong (self-published)
Dixon, John – Devil’s Pocket (Simon & Schuster)
Hill, Will – Department 19: Darkest Night (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Hurley, Tonya – Hallowed (Simon & Schuster)
Johnson, Maureen – The Shadow Cabinet (Penguin)
Sattin, Samuel – The Silent End (Ragnarok Publications)
Varley, Dax – Bleed (Garden Gate Press)
Welke, Ian – End Times at Ridgemont High (Omnium Gatherum)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel
Bunn, Cullen – Harrow County, Vol. 1: Countless Haints (Dark Horse Comics)
Gischler, Victor – Hellbound (Dark Horse Books)
Kipiniak, Chris – Behemoth (Monkeybrain Comics)
Kirkman, Robert – Outcast, Vol. 1: A Darkness Surrounds Him (Image Comics)
Lucarelli, David – The Children’s Vampire Hunting Brigade, Vol. 2: Age of the Wicked (Creator’s Edge Press)
Snyder, Scott – Wytches, Vol. 1 (Image Comics)
Tobin, Paul – Colder, Vol. 2: The Bad Seed (Dark Horse Comics)
Weller, Sam, Chris Ryall, Carlos Guzman and Mort Castle (editors) – Shadow Show: Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury (IDW Publishing)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
Braunbeck, Gary A. – Paper Cuts (Seize the Night) (Gallery Books)
Eads, Ben – Cracked Sky (Omnium Gatherum)
Edelman, Scott – Becoming Invisible, Becoming Seen (Dark Discoveries #30)
Gunhus, Jeff – The Torment of Rachel Ames (Seven Guns Press)
Mannetti, Lisa – The Box Jumper (Smart Rhino Publications)
McGuire, Seanan – Resistance (The End Has Come) (Broad Reach Publishing)
O’Neill, Gene – At the Lazy K (Written Backwards)
Parent, Jason – Dia de los Muertos (Bad Apples 2) (Corpus Press)
Partridge, Norman – Special Collections (The Library of the Dead) (Written Backwards)
Yardley, Mercedes M. – Little Dead Red (Grimm Mistresses) (Ragnarok Publications)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
Bailey, Dale – Snow (Nightmare Magazine #33)
Boston, Bruce – A Trader on the Border of the Mutant Rain Forest (Daily Science Fiction)
Braum, Daniel – An American Ghost in Zurich (Savage Beasts) (Grey Matter Press)
Gonzalez, Michael Paul – Choking Hazard (Winter Horror Days) (Omnium Gatherum)
Jonez, Kate – All the Day You’ll Have Good Luck (Black Static #47)
Manzetti, Alessandro – The Massacre of the Mermaids (The Massacre of the Mermaids) (Kipple Officina Libraria)
O’Neill, Gene – The Algernon Effect (White Noise Press)
Palisano, John – Happy Joe’s Rest Stop (18 Wheels of Horror) (Big Time Books)
Southard, Nate – The Cork Won’t Stay (Nightmare Magazine #34)
Walters, Damien Angelica – Sing Me Your Scars (Sing Me Your Scars) (Apex Publications)
Wong, Alyssa – Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers (Nightmare Magazine #37)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay
Benson, Justin – Spring (XYZ Films)
del Toro, Guillermo, & Matthew Robbins – Crimson Peak (Legendary Pictures)
Franz, Veronika, and Severin Fiala – Goodnight, Mommy (Ulrich Seidl Film Produktion)
Fuller, Bryan, Steve Lightfoot & Nick Antosca – Hannibal: The Wrath of the Lamb (Dino De Laurentiis Company)
Gimple, Scott M. – The Walking Dead: Here’s Not Here (AMC)
Logan, John – Penny Dreadful: And Hell Itself My Only Foe (Showtime)
Logan, John – Penny Dreadful: Nightcomers (Showtime)
Mitchell, David Robert – It Follows (Northern Lights Films)
Waititi, Taika & Jemaine Clement – What We Do in the Shadows (Unison Films)
Zahler, S. Craig – Bone Tomahawk (Caliber Media Company)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology
Bailey, Michael – The Library of the Dead (Written Backwards)
Datlow, Ellen – The Doll Collection: Seventeen Brand-New Tales of Dolls (Tor Books)
Delany, Shannon, and Judith Graves – Beware the Little White Rabbit (Leap Books, LLC)
Golden, Christopher – Seize the Night (Gallery Books)
Jones, Stephen – Horrorology (Quercus Publishing)
Kilpatrick, Nancy, and Caro Soles – nEvermore! (Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing)
Maberry, Jonathan – X-Files: Trust No One (IDW Publishing)
Miller, Eric – 18 Wheels of Horror (Big Time Books)
Murano, Doug, and D. Alexander Ward – Shadows Over Main Street (Hazardous Press)
Nassise, Joseph, and Del Howison – Midian Unmade (Tor Books)
Rector, Jeani – Shrieks and Shivers from the Horror Zine (Post Mortem Press)
Thomas, Richard – Exigencies (Dark House Press)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
Braunbeck, Gary – Halfway Down the Stairs (JournalStone Publishing)
Brozek, Jennifer – Apocalypse Girl Dreaming (Evil Girlfriend Media)
Cummings, Shane Jiraiya – The Abandonment of Grace and Everything After (Brimstone Press)
Cushing, Nicole – The Mirrors (Cycatrix Press)
Everson, John – Sacrificing Virgins (Samhain Publishing)
Grant, Taylor – The Dark at the End of the Tunnel (Crystal Lake Publishing)
Litherland, Neal F. – New Avalon: Love and Loss in the City of Steam (James Ward Kirk Publishing)
O’Neill, Gene – The Hitchhiking Effect (Dark Renaissance Books)
Snyder, Lucy A. – While the Black Stars Burn (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Warner, Matthew – Dominoes in Time (Cemetery Dance Publications)

Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction
Everett, Justin, and Jeffrey H. Shanks (ed.) – The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales: The Evolution of Modern Fantasy and Horror (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers)
Hutchinson, Sharla, and Rebecca A. Brown (ed.) – Monsters and Monstrosity from the Fin de Siècle to the Millennium (McFarland and Company)
Jones, Stephen – The Art of Horror (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books)
Knost, Michael – Author’s Guide to Marketing with Teeth (Seventh Star Press)
Mynhardt, Joe, & Emma Audsley (editors) – Horror 201: The Silver Scream (Crystal Lake Publishing)
Olson, Danel – Studies in the Horror Film: Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (Centipede Press)
Soderlund, Sarah – Haunted by the Abyss: The Otherworldly Experiences of Paranormal (Llewellyn Publications)
Southall, Richard – Haunted Plantations of the South (Llewellyn Publications)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
Boston, Bruce – Resonance Dark and Light (Eldritch Press)
Crum, Amanda – The Madness in our Marrow (Amanda Crum)
Gailey, Jeannine Hall – The Robot Scientist’s Daughter (Mayapple Press)
Hanson, Michael H. – Dark Parchments (MoonDream Press)
Manzetti, Alessandro – Eden Underground (Crystal Lake Publishing)
Opperman, K.A. – The Crimson Tome (Hippocampus Press)
Randolph, Michael – Poetic Allegories (Eldritch Press)
Schwader, Ann – Dark Energies (P’rea Press)
Simon, Marge – Naughty Ladies (Eldritch Press)
Wytovich, Stephanie M. – An Exorcism of Angels (Raw Dog Screaming Press)