7 Fundamental Rules for Writing Powerful Sentences

Creating a sentence is a game of strategy. The perception of the sentences in the words the writer introduces and arranges together.

Each word in a sentence is a part that functions only when they are connected in the right way. And each sentence plays a role of a soldier, and only the connection of the sentences together can bring a win.

Every writer aspires to be better. But being better comes with small steps, one of those steps being writing a good sentence. No matter what type of writer one wants to be, writing effective sentences is the building block of success.

Here are the rules for creating effective sentences in your writing

1. Edit and Rewrite, Over and Again

Your first drafts are rarely your friends. Just like you should practice your speech multiple times to make it sound more effective, you should write and rewrite your sentences, again and again, to make them as powerful as necessary for your writing.

edit and rewrite again and again the sentences

Erasing and rewriting stimulates your brain and helps you think from different perspectives. There are so many ways to present your ideas, but deciding which way is the most effective takes lots of rewriting and brain-scratching. Who says writing is boring?

2. Be Sincere

Laziness is the number one enemy of writing. You might think that you can fumble around with words, throw a few punch lines here and there, and be done. But that’s not the way writing works. It’s about crafting every sentence with full sincerity and attentiveness.

A writer must focus on each sentence he writes, only then he can expect it to impact the readers the way he wants to.

As Stephen King has said, “You have to stay faithful to what you’re working on.” you have to believe in your creation, otherwise, it’ll be rather hard to make your readers believe in your writing.

3. Connecting the sentences

Yes, a single sentence can be powerful. But sometimes it can lose its effectiveness if you write it without giving it a background or explaining it further.

That’s why connecting sentences together is important in writing. You might write mighty sentences, but if you don’t know how to properly thread them with each other, your readers won’t find any connection.

To make a perfect relationship between the sentences, you must use transition words and phrases. Transition words and phrases are used to show the relationship between phrases and sentences.

connecting sentences

Some common transitive words and phrases –

  • Because
  • And
  • So
  • Resultantly
  • Additionally
  • Furthermore
  • As a result
  • What’s more

Transition words help you to show that your ideas are connected and have strong reasoning. You can use transition words and phrases at the start of a sentence, in the middle, and even at the end.

Remember, sentences only come alive and tell a story when they are connected in the right way.

4. Take time to write

take time to write a sentence

Author Stephen King once quoted “When asked, ‘How do you write?’ I invariably answer, ‘one word at a time.’”

Writing isn’t about rushing to fill up pages after pages just to reach the word count. Rather, it’s about taking your time to create every sentence consciously and carefully. If you want your readers to take your written content seriously, you must be serious about it as well.

5. Sufficient Understanding

Writing something without understanding the idea of the topic is almost always a bad idea.

Sure, you can create a few things on the way, but you should have a good understanding of what you are writing about before starting the actual writing.

understanding the sentences

The same goes for writing every sentence; you have to understand how it will impact the story and the readers before writing your thoughts down.

6. Avoid Grammatical Errors

Sometimes, when writing fails, it’s because of its bad grammar. How you use grammar in your sentences shows how mature and careful you are as a writer.

grammatical error

However, fixing grammar can be time-consuming and sometimes, not 100% effective. That’s why nowadays, writers rely on online grammar checker software along with human editors.

7. Read a lot

read more

Don’t make your writing boring by composing your sentences in the same way. Follow the emotion, and tone of your story while writing each sentence. The best way to create the best sentences is by observing other writers’ works, which you can do by reading a lot.

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