The Byrchen Twigges

I love you writers, each and every one of you. I love you when you’re starting out and I love you when you’ve been doing it for years.

I’ve done my share of beta reading over the years. It’s been my honor to have new writers trust me with their stories, and to have old writing warhorses share their tales.

And there are some small, practical things I find myself telling everybody. These are things that make your fic smoother to read. This, in turn, helps the reader get into your world. They’ve got more goodwill to buy into your crazy crossover, your rare pairing, or your point-of-view original character.

Here are three that apply to any fiction of any kind. 

Keep your paragraphs no more than 10 sentences long

When paragraphs are longer than 10 sentences, it’s hard to keep your reader’s attention. Honestly, I should say six – seven long sentences or 10 shorter sentences for fiction.

A terrible thing happens when your paragraphs are too long: readers stop reading. This is especially marked when people are reading on a phone instead of a tablet or bigger screen. A long paragraph looks REALLY long on a phone. My eyes just slide away.

Each paragraph can have its own narrative point or goal. With this in mind, you'll see that long paragraphs often have a natural ‘split point’ in there.

Keep your sentences 15 – 20 words long

Your readers prefer shorter sentences. A 20 word sentence is surprisingly long. Even if you’re waxing lyrical or descriptive, it’s enough to say or describe one main thing. If you find you’re using lots of semicolons or parentheses, it may be time to start some new sentences. It’s also good to mix up long sentences with shorter ones. This creates a rhythm for your reader.

I find some fandoms tend naturally to short, crisp writing. Others – Tolkien fandom, I’m looking at you – run long. In those fandoms, readers have more of a tolerance-to-fondness for our verbosity. But it’s good to have a handle on it.

Sometimes longer sections are OK, here’s when

Sometimes I’ll go hog wild and have a long paragraph or some really luxurious writing. When is this okay? I think it’s okay for a:

• Major plot point
• Major reveal or introduction
• Very emotional moment

Frame it well – again, look for a balance between long and short content.

Two different pronouns? Use names as well as the character pronouns

I love a great het pairing fic. A great pairing between new and exciting genders. A genfic that sets off two people being friends. Yet I note that, when characters are two different genders, writers often don’t use character names, relying instead on those pronouns.

When I ask why, they say ‘I feel shy/awkward’ or ‘the reader knows, right?’ In theory, yes. For me, using nothing but she/he, or she/them for example, makes the story sound generic. I like a reminder of which she and which them are in my narrative.

Try and bring in the character’s names every other paragraph, or every second/third dialogue callout. It keeps your action and dialogue pinned to your characters. The reader has an easier time joining you in what you were picturing in your head.

And...that's it. That's the three points for this post. If you try these on your own writing, let me know how they worked for you.