Writers: Pay Attention to Structure

Did you ever finish a first draft, put it aside for a few days, go back and read through it and think This is pretty boring? The next task is to figure out why you think what you wrote has no pizzazz, no life, no sparkle. 

There can be, of course, lots of different reasons, but one of them might be that you have no variety within the text. Writing all the same format of sentences and paragraphs quickly becomes boring for your reader (and maybe you, as well, when you start to proofread.)  What should you watch for and correct?

Vary the length of your paragraphs:  If you have a long paragraph, follow it with a short one. And no, you don't need to make a complete pattern of long-short-long-short. Just don't run twelve very long paragraphs in a row. Insert a shorter one here and there. When I have something I want the reader to take notice of, I use a shorter paragraph rather than bury that tidbit deep into a longer one. I might go one step farther and say that it's best not to use very long paragraphs at all. That is a personal feeling. 

Vary sentence structure:  If all your sentences are structured in the exact same way, you're headed straight into the land of Boredom for Readers. Ever written a paragraph where every sentence started with 'he' or 'she' and it bored even you? You can remedy this by using another descriptive word instead of the pronoun. 

If you're talking about a shoemaker, instead of using 'he' at the beginning of each sentence in the paragraph, try 'shoemaker' in some or 'craftsman' or 'the old man.' 

Try reversing the order of your sentence to make things more interesting. Instead of saying:

   Jim fell in the dirt chasing the ball. Try As he chased the ball, Jim fell facedown in the dirt.

Vary sentence length:  This is the shorter version of varying paragraphs lengths. Follow a long sentence with a shorter one. And, please, do not use sentences that end up longer than some paragraphs. When you proofread your work and see an exceedingly long sentence, chop it! What I mean is to divide it into two shorter sentences. Much easier for your reader, and certainly better for the one who reads it aloud. Another reason to read your drafts aloud. If you find yourself gasping for breath as you read, that sentence is too long.

Variety in your writing doesn't mean content alone; the structure of your text can move you from boring to interesting. Content is of great importance, but the way you present that content is also 

relevant.