Listen to the people around you and watch television. When we argue aggressively we tend to use short sentences. The words are thrown together in outbursts without a huge amount of consideration. When we are having a discussion, we build in more pauses so that we can assemble our thoughts before we utter them.
Angry speech is more staccato, the words also tend be shorter so that they can be spat out or flung with ferocity. Very often the words will finish with ‘it’ or ‘ick’ or some other hard ending. The discussion will have longer words that are selected to be appropriate and accurate. They are delivered more slowly so that they sink in and can have more effect.
In dialogue we could see these as the two extremes, but there is no reason why short sentences can’t work in other scenarios. ‘Please, please. Don’t go,’ is short and sharp, but has no harsh endings. The words change the tone. It would be an interesting exercise to write the dialogue of an argument in long sentences, but trying to retain the vehemence.
It’s not only in dialogue that we need to manage the pace of a piece. In a book we need to arrive at various crescendos and it’s at these peaks of excitement that we will probably need to keep the reader hanging on to the action, hauling them along with us. Similarly, there will be slow movements where the language can be more languorous and measured. However, it is not a question of either/or. Within the space of a few hundred words we can use short sentences that have little pace and longer sentences that are all fired up. Both contribute to the narrative, but do not dominate the overall feeling. It’s one of those occasions where you need to hear the words, and if you aren’t yet hearing them in your head, retire to a quiet room and read it aloud. Read ‘Nodding candles‘ as an example.
Of course, we don’t have to rely on the short sentence, we can break up the sentence itself. Or we can use the short sentence at the beginning of the paragraph to set the tone for the rest of paragraph, giving it a breathlessness that can only be interpreted as pace. And pace doesn’t have to mean action. The pace could all be inside someone’s head. Don’t confuse rational, quick thinking with pace. Rapid thoughts need to be reactive and spontaneous to keep the speed and energy going. Read ‘Anger‘ as an example.
