This Writing Technique Is Essential (Periodic Sentences)

Something you may have already been doing without noticing.

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I’ve recently been reading a book of short stories called Antarctica by Claire Keegan, and was stumped by this passage below.

“When the girl closes her eyes, her father picks her up and carries her inside. His sons, not wishing to be left alone with the stepmother, soon followed.”

If you type the second sentence into Grammarly, it suggests you change it to:

“His sons soon followed, not wishing to be left alone with the stepmother.”

However, Grammarly could not be more WRONG!

It is this very sentence structure that gives it so much power and is known as a ‘periodic sentence.’ Essentially, you put the most important thing at the end of the sentence for dramatic effect. In this case, the fact that the two kids left their stepmother alone is the most crucial part.

If it’s not something you’ve heard of before, it’s definitely something you may have already used without knowing. In fact, this is not limited to fiction and can be used in any form of writing.

For A Fitness Topic

"After months of consistent training, pushing through those reps, and refining your form, you will finally start to see some results.”

For A Business Topic

“Despite the volatile market conditions, the bleak forecasts, and the agony of uncertainty, the company finally prevailed.”

These are just two examples off the top of my head, but the possibilities, if you'll allow me to prove my point further, are endless.

Anyway, that’s my two cents for this week; thanks for reading!

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