Finding a Rhythm
I’m no professional, but if you were to ask me what the most important element of your writing is, I would tell you it’s in the rhythm of your words. Do your words flow seamlessly together as if they were sewn with the most careful hands? Do they match perfectly into each other as if they were routinely assembling the outline of a 1,000-piece puzzle? Or do they simply sit comfortably next to each other, offering little to no chemistry or pattern?
I hope your answer may be the first and second one, because in my (mostly irrelevant) opinion, all writing deserves rhythm. When you’re writing, it should sound as if you were speaking, with a drop of eloquence. If you would never use the word “regardless” when you’re talking to your friends and family, you shouldn’t use it in your writing, regardless of how smart you think it makes you sound.
According to William Zinsser, the author of On Writing Well, “But whatever your age, be yourself when you write,” Zinsser said. “Many college students write as if they were desiccated alumni 30 years out. Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation.” Zinsser seeks to teach up-and-coming writers that their voice is the only voice that matters when writing. When you try to blend too many famous voices into one piece of work, the message with inevitably become lost in translation. This is why the first step to finding good rhythm is to eliminate the idea that you have to sound a certain way.
The second most important thing that I believe helps me become a better writer, is to routinely check my audience. Prior to reading On Writing Well, I didn’t realize that our audience was ourselves. However, it all makes sense now. Some of my best writing has come out when I know that I’m only writing to myself in a diary or journal entry. This is when I’m able to communicate my ideas most effectively and most clearly; leaving me with the most alleviating sigh of relief each time. Zinsser says that since every reader is a different person, it is unrealistic to say you’re writing for all of them. Instead, you can only truly write for yourself.
Meanwhile, while writing for yourself, Zinsser highlights that it takes time to find your style of writing or your rhythm. Finding a rhythm will also make your writing easier to read. According to the American Writers and Artists Institute, making your writing easier to read will help readers pay more attention and be more engaged in your voice. Overall, each tip and trick comes back to the notion that rhythm of your words may make or break your writing.