Writing tools: Tool one

One of the books I'm reading this year is Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark. This is because I am going to write more this year and I also want to write well. It looks like this book equips you with tools and not rules to writing well -- let's see if this will be my conclusion after reading it. My goal is to read and write about three tools a week till I finish the book, and see how I will incorporate them in my writings.

Tool one: Begin sentences with subjects and verbs.

This ensures that you make meaning early and then weaker elements come later.

• The subject is a person, place, thing, or idea that is "doing" or "being".
• The verb is the action performed or the state of being.

For example: She cried the moment he scored the goal. She is the subject (the actor) and *cried** is the verb (the action being performed). Did you notice how this statement follows that rule too?

Practice Exercise

Now it's your turn! Try identifying the subjects and verbs in these sentences:

Now that you can identify subjects and verbs, let's explore how changing their positions affects your writing.

When you place the subject and the verb at the end, you create tension/suspense. The reader has to read through the details until the end to know what happened.

For example: Beneath the floorboards and behind the peeling carpet, a pile of cash hid.

In that sentence, the subject is "A pile of cash", Yes, a subject can also be a group of words and the verb is "hid".

Key Takeaway: If you want to make meaning early, put the subject and the verb at the beginning, and if you want to create suspense put them at the end.

Suspenseful Writing Exercise

Practice identifying subjects and verbs in suspenseful sentences where they appear at the end:

Separating the subject from the verb i.e., putting one at the start and the other at the end weakens the message.

Summary

Subject-verb placement is a powerful tool for controlling how readers experience your writing.

• Beginning: Clear and direct
• End: Creates suspense and tension
• Separated: Weakens the message - avoid unless intentional