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An ear for copy
Good copy is all about creating active, vivid prose that flows with natural rhythm. In this article I want to get you to consider more than just the meaning of words or writing accurately/succinctly. Effective writing 'sounds' good.
The basic tools for creating rhythm in writing are:
- Grammar sentence structure and punctuation.
- Active/ passive prose
- Clarity v clutter/ confusion
- Word choice
As usual I'll use plain English for clarity so forgive me for using 'verse' when I want to use 'stanza' or 'syllable' when I mean 'phoneme' etc.
The long and the short of it
Let's start with a basic rhythm. I have a simple rule I imaginatively call the 'short-long-short' rule that will immediately improve your copy. Here's how it works:
Start a paragraph with a short sentence. Then, give the main point of your paragraph plenty of room with a sentence that's long enough to get your point across. Finish with another short sentence.
An example:
"This is the home page of Joe Bloggs where you will find the right look for your next site that is so good your search is at an end as you have come to the right place. So why wait when you can call now for a great quote and get the right look at the right price with Joe Bloogs?"
Yuck! Passive, cluttered and monotonous it's got no rhythm. Let's quickly apply the "short-long-short" rule:
"Get your new look right with Joe Bloggs. With the right balance of effective, yet affordable web design, your search for quality without the price is over. Call now for a quote."
She may be deaf but grammar knows a tune
Grammar is the key to creating rhythm. Control it and you control the reader, get it wrong and your copy loses it's effectiveness.
Punctuation for controlling rhythm
Punctuation is essential in creating rhythm. Punctuation can help a sentence flow or smash it into unrelated, chopped-up and hard to digest fragments.
Most punctuation marks force the reader to pause. In order of longest-to-shortest pause we have something like*:
! . ? : ; ,
Some are used to link blocks together. In order of quickest-to-slowest transition we have something like*:
-
()
Too much punctuation and you'll end up with a totally irregular and jarring 'noise'; too little and you have no rhythm at all.
*Depends on context and structure.
Clear, active and clutter-free prose
Not only are these important for clearly getting your message across and for readability, they also play a part in rhythm and tempo. In order of the severity to which they slow down reading speed:
Confusion Clutter Passive
Clear, clutter-free and active prose is quick to read. We've looked at clutter and passive before, so here's a quick example of pure confusion:
"The man who whistles tunes pianos."
(The man who is whistling also tunes pianos)
Despite being short and clutter-free, the ambiguity of "tunes" slows a reader down as they must go back and try to make sense of the sentence. That is confusion.
Tempo
In the last article I warned against 'Green Finger Fever'. Rhythm is one of the first casualties, along with all sense of personality and ease of reading, when weeding clutter out of your copy. It's about balance again.
There's a lot of advice out there to make your copy short, sharp and succinct . Does that mean making it a high-tempo adrenaline rush to get the reader through to the end as quickly as possible? Does it 'eckers like!
Let's revisit the example I gave earlier:
"Get your new look right with Joe Bloggs. With the right balance of effective, yet affordable web design, your search for quality without the price is over. Call now for a quote."
Tempo to create texture
I used grammar (punctuation and structure) to add texture. Superficially this is by breaking the paragraph down into "short-long-short".
Tempo for subtle emphasis
Notice how, in the second sentence, I use 'slower' words, and stumbling blocks ("effective, yet", "yet affordable" and "design, your") and a pair of commas to 'catch' the reader and make them pause on "affordable web design"?
Tempo to create mood
Using strong and direct 'commands' in the short sentences has created a sense of urgency. The slower, more passive (note the "search for quality" is at the end of the sentence) second sentence gives the reader time to breath and not feel under pressure that 2 adjacent commands would create.
Tempo to control flow
Short, punchy sentences lead a reader in and out. The abrupt changes in flow from the 1st to 2nd and from the 2nd to 3rd sentences make the reader pause and take in more of what they've just read.
It's like in art where you must draw the eye into the image not have every element leading the eye out of the frame. A sentence that flows too well can lead the reader right through and out without having to stop to think.
Beats working
Each syllable in a sentence provides the beat. How these beats fit together to form the tempo, aside from grammar, depends mostly on their 'shape' (remember word brushes?) and context.
Let's go through some examples to show different rhythmic forms:
"Dyslexia trips several readers up when reading hard-to-read random-rhythmic text."
"Penning smoothly-flowing prose may lead the reader through and out the door "
"The writer writing in a contrived way. His fake prose derived with nothing to say."
"Just droning, on and on and on and on, no point or emphasis or tone, just monotonous droning on and on and on."
"Special deal. Great offer. Buy now. Contact me today. Don't delay. Limited time."
"Hear the soft, soothing tones of my voice as you drift merrily along."
"Disaster! Copy gone to crap? Words choked and cluttered with junk?"
See what's going-on? How different rhythms seriously effect the way in which copy is read? This is complex and has a lot to do with English being a 'stress-timed' language. We'll look at this in more detail later in the series we're still just introducing tools.
Thank you and good night!
You can't teach someone to have an 'ear for copy' in the same way you can't teach someone to have an 'eye for design'. Hopefully this article has given you another way to look at your copy and put another basic tool in your toolbox. We will be revisiting rhythm (especially in 'writing to sell') as we go.
The next tool we're going to consider is extremely powerful in evoking a response or conveying an idea/mood to a reader. It's called 'Vivid Description' and it's a tool you'll want.
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