Word Placement for Powerful Sentences
By Gail Gaymer Martin
How words are placed in sentences determines the power words, the word that is the focus of the sentence, but sometimes, it’s easy to allow the major point or focus of the sentence to get lost in structure. By putting it in the correct location, you can change the emotion and power of the sentence.
Margie Lawson, psychology counselor, is well know for her fiction editing and emotion workshops. I enjoyed one of her course a few years ago and especially what she taught in her class Empowering Characters Emotions. This technique, which Margie calls “backloading,” not only enhances emotion but it places the focus word at the end of the sentence, a place of power. This last word in the sentence draws attention to it and enforces emphasis, making your writing more dynamic. The words are truly empowered.
Here are a few examples:
Original Sentence: Tears filled her eyes.
Powered Structure: Her eyes filled with tears.
In the original structure, the power word is eyes, but is this the focus? Ask yourself which word is most signification. Through a simple change, the emphasis of the sentence is tears.
Original Sentence: Her throat tightened with the words that formed in her mind.
Powered Structure: Words formed in her mind as her throat tightened.
The revision helps to focus on the emotion she feels, shown as her throat tightens.
Once again, read the first sentence as ask which is the power word in this sentence.
Original Sentence: With her spirit wavering, she shrugged off her attitude and enjoyed the scenery.
Powered Structure: With her spirit wavering, she enjoyed the scenery and shrugged off her attitude.
I think it’s clear that her changing attitude is the focus here and one that is the empowering word of the sentence.
Read this sentence and before you check the re-write, ask yourself what’s most important in the sentence.
Original Sentence: From the past she recalled that Bonnie tended to go into a tizzy when she didn’t get what she wanted.
Powered Structure: From the past she recalled when Bonnie didn’t get what she wanted, she tended to go into a tizzy.
I think you’ll agree that Bonnie’s tizzy is most important. It’s the part of the sentence that draws more emotion and is the most important piece of information in this sentence.
This technique can make a difference in your writing, One caution: don’t use this method if it ruins the natural flow of your sentence or if it makes it awkward or sounds forced. You can’t structure every sentence with backloading or it can lose its effect, but chose the sentences that will enhance emotion and point readers to what’s important. It’s easy to do. Pull the strongest and most important word from within your sentence and put it at the end, the place of power.
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Multi-award-winning novelist, Gail Gaymer Martin writes Christian fiction for Love Inspired and has written for Barbour Publishing, where she was honored by Heartsong readers as their Favorite Author
of 2008. Gail has fifty contracted novels with over three million books in print. She is the author of Writers Digest’s Writing the Christian Romance. Gail is a co-founder of American Christian Fiction Writers, a keynote speaker at churches, libraries and civic organizations and presents workshops at conference across the US. She was named one of the four best novelists in the Detroit area by CBS local news. She lives with her husband in a northwest Detroit suburb. Visit her website at www.gailmartin.com. Her most recent book, A Dream of His Own, releases today from Love Inspired.
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3 Comments until now.
Thank you, Gail, for sharing how meaning is made more evident by sentence structure. Congratulations for your most recent release “ A Dream of His Own. ” Best wishes for the next book you’ll be birthing.
Howdy,
True, indeed, words and where they are placed throughout a writing.
Providentially arrived at FAITHWRITERS
SCOTT LINDSAY
Robert Novak And A Column YOU Would Have Read
SPORTS LITERARY COLUMNIST AND THE PLAYS THE THING
COLUMBA KNOX
“Scott Lindsay will no longer be owner of FAITHWRITERS.”
After that was declared it was said at the blog that he would share departing words; was looking forward to read what he had to say. He did not do that.
So I thought, you who knows him would have writings-of-thanks sent to FWS. That did not happen.
So it seemed proper that the initial writing be an official thank you for his truly amazing giving to Christian Writers. Its an acrostic poem and title speaks for itself.
Would like for him to read that and share his thoughts………
COLUMBA KNOX