Creative Writing Tips For Effective Sentence Construction

One of the most common stumbling blocks for amateur writers is that of sentence construction. If your sentences are too short then chances are your information is not being properly conveyed but if you continue on and on then your reader loses interest very quickly. See what I mean? That last sentence was an example of an overly long sentence.
How to tell if your sentences are too long
If your reader can make and drink a cup of tea in the time it takes you to write one sentence that should be a clue. Seriously, the best way to test your sentence lengths is to read them aloud. The rule is if you need to stop to take a breath then that is usually where the sentence should end.
Long sentences = intelligence?
Some people think that using extra long sentences and complicated words means your reader will see you as intelligent. This is not true. All you are going to achieve is to make your work unreadable or at the very least extremely dull.
How to cut your sentences into manageable chunks
If you feel the need to season your sentences with conjunctive words then this could be at the root of your problems. Conjunctive words are ink words like ‘and’ ‘although’ ‘because’ and ‘however’. These words can often be replaced with full stops thus eliminating your problem.
The same effect can also be achieved by readjusting the construction of your sentences. This can be done by trying to use fewer words to convey your meaning or by rearranging the existing words. At times you may find that what you are trying to say works better as two separate sentences.
Another way to improve the quality of your sentences is to try to remove any unnecessary description. For example, ‘she walked across the frozen ice’ should become ‘she walked across the ice’. Excessive description is dull and adds no conceivable value to your work.
Additionally, sentences should only contain one succinct concept, opinion or thought. If you have too many things going on in one sentence chances are you need to start a new one. Try to think about it from the point of view of your reader and don’t over complicate things.
Finally, it isn’t always necessary to start a new sentence. One way of fixing sentences that appear to be too long is to apply some punctuation e.g. commas or semi-colons. Several over factors are needed to determine what is needed and they belong to another tutorial.