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June 22, 2026 · 8:54 am

7 Rules of Construction #writing

My native language is English (although I am fluent in gibberish). But since I wanted to be taken seriously as an author, my job is to understand how grammar works and use it to my advantage.

The great authors bend the rules to energize their prose, but they know the rules they are ignoring and are consistent with how they bend them. They are deliberate.

Now, I do understand reality. If you are in the process of burning up the keyboard, tapping out a quick novel meant only to pay the bills, you won’t be thinking about getting fancy.

However, when it comes to word choices, some things are universal.

And so, here are seven rules that professional writing programs teach about sentence and paragraph construction.

One: Verbs. It is important to choose words that sound powerful when read aloud, as they convey the most meaning and reduce the tendency toward using too many “ly” words. In English, words that begin with hard consonants sound tougher and carry more power.

Verbs are power words. Fluff words and obscure words used too freely are kryptonite, sapping the strength from our prose.

Two: Placement of verbs in the sentence. Sentence construction can strengthen or weaken our work.

Nouns followed by verbs make active prose:
Moving the verbs to the beginning of the sentence makes it stronger.

From the building, Shari ran.

versus

Shari ran from the building.

It might fall out of our heads in the first draft, but we wouldn’t leave it. That kind of writing isn’t technically bad, but it’s awkward and not changing it in revisions is a newbie mistake. It’s the kind of writing that happens when we are just trying to spew the words as fast as we can.

Awkward phrasing is a subconscious code showing us what we need to revise.

Three: Parallel construction smooths awkward phrasing. This is the act of combining two or more clauses of equal importance into one sentence. To make them parallel, each clause should use the same grammatical structure. They are parallel, and the reader absorbs what is said naturally.

What parallelism means can be shown by a quote attributed to Julius Caesar, who used the phrase “I came; I saw; I conquered” in a letter to the Roman Senate after he had achieved a quick victory in the Battle of Zela. Caesar uses the same number of words in each clause. This choice gives equal importance to the different ideas of arriving, seeing, and conquering.

Four: Contrast: In literature, we use contrast to describe the difference(s) between two or more things in one sentence. The sun burned like fire, but the ever-present wind chilled me.

Five: Similes show the resemblances between two concepts, using words such as “like” and “as.” The sun burned like fire.

Similes are different from metaphors, which suggest something “is” something else.

The pale moon shone, a guiding lamp in the sky that comforted me. In this sentence, the moon becomes a lamp to guide the narrator. “Lamp” is the metaphor.

Six: Repetition. If we occasionally employ deliberate repetition, it can emphasize emotion and atmosphere without increasing wordiness.

Repetition of the last word in a line or clause.
Repetition of words at the start of clauses or verses.
Repetition of words or phrases in the opposite sense.
Repetition of words broken by some other words.
Repetition of the same words at the end and start of a sentence.
Repetition of a phrase or question to stress a point.
Repetition of the same word at the end of each clause.
Repetition of an idea, first in negative terms and then in positive terms.
Repetition of words of the same root with different endings.
Repetition at both the beginning and the end of a sentence, paragraph, or scene.
Repetition is a construction in poetry where the last word of one clause becomes the first word of the next.

courtesy Office360 graphics

There are good repetitions and bad repetitions. Bad repetitions consist of the overuse of crutch words, such as grin, shrug, and wryly, along with many other easy words that come quickly to mind and litter the narrative during the first-draft rush.

Crutch words are easy because they say what you mean with little effort. They will become lazy writing if not found and trimmed back to a reasonable level during the revision process.

Seven: Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter (or sound) at the beginning of successive words. Alliteration can lend a poetic feeling to a passage and help create the atmosphere of a given scene without adding wordiness.

When I see birches bend to left and right

Across the lines of straighter darker trees,

I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.

But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay

As ice-storms do. (Birches, by Robert Frost, 1916) [2]

I love the way Robert Frost uses alliteration to set the scene and create the atmosphere in those opening lines.

Poetry makes good use of good repetition and alliteration. Consider this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Every book is a quotation, and every house is a quotation out of all forests, and mines, and stone quarries; and every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Prose and Poetry. [1]

I know I say this all the time, but the way we habitually construct our prose is our voice. Our voice determines the impact of our work.

We all know different readers have widely different tastes. But everyone knows what they consider good writing, and they don’t recommend what they see as bad writing. If the work is well written, the author’s voice will determine whether a reader enjoys it.

And this brings me to that old bugaboo, GENRE.

We must know who our readers are, what they want, and construct our work to fit that market. All readers want to find what they perceive as good writing.

Active phrasing generates emotion.

Sometimes, using similes, repetition, and alliteration in subtle applications enhances the worldbuilding without beating your reader over the head.

We all know worldbuilding must be organic and natural, but there are times when we struggle to achieve it. Subtle application of these seven rules will empower your worldbuilding. The casual reader will be immersed but unaware of the mechanics. They won’t realize why the work is powerful.

Credits and Attributions

[1] Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Complete Works. Published in 1904. Vol. VIII. Letters and Social Aims, VI. Quotation and Originality, The Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, vol. 8 (Letters and Social Aims) | Online Library of Liberty, Public Domain (accessed June 19, 2026).

[3] Wikipedia contributors, “Birches (poem),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Birches_(poem)&oldid=1351913530 (accessed June 19, 2026).

English, the ever-disintegrating language, and why punctuation is important #writing

Every now and then, one of the forums I visit will have a group of people engaged in a little gripe session, sparking a series of comments on how English seems to be sliding in a new and degenerate direction.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: English is the ever-disintegrating language. The very roots of English encourage its continual evolution, and the advent of smartphones and the internet have this rollercoaster hurtling downhill.

Unfortunately, I love how each generation of the last three hundred years has twisted common words and used them in “wrong” ways. (I know, I’m naughty.)

The problem many writers have is not with the words they choose and use. It is the lack of knowledge where grammar and sentence structure are concerned.

English grammar, and punctuation in particular, is designed to meet a reader’s expectations. This means that punctuation isn’t flexible, but many other aspects of grammar are.

What makes grammar confusing to the inexperienced author is the fact that the rules are bursting at the seams with exceptions.

This is because, a long time ago in a university far, far away, a bunch of smart guys in Victorian England decided to codify the slippery eel that is English.

They applied the rules of a dead language, Latin, to an evolving language with completely different roots, Frisian smushed together with Old French, and added a bunch of mish-mash words and usages invented by William Shakespeare, calling it “Grammar.”

Some writers are grumpier than others. They do make me laugh, though, with their diatribes declaring that certain newer word usages either signify lazy speech habits or a shift in the language.

A long time ago, I came up with a short list of text-message words that have bled into daily usage. These magical morsels of madness are only the tip of the pox-ridden iceberg:

Supposably … one of my personal favorite crutch words. You may ask if I meant supposedly, and I will look at you with a blank stare.

Liberry … unfortunately, you must go to the library for those books. The liberry will give you hives.

Feberry ... I hope you mean it will happen in February, because Feberry will never come.

Honestness... honestly, I’m not sure what to make of that one.

But my particular favorite is prolly, which my granddaughters think means probably, but in all honestness, doesn’t. Although in fifty years, it may be the preferred form in the dictionary, and the word probably will be cited as the archaic form.

It’s not a new problem. Jonathan Swift, writer and dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, went so far as to say, “In many Instances, it offends against every Part of Grammar.”

Well, that is prolly a little harsh.

English shifts a little with every passing year. It seeks out and pools up in the lowest places. It steals what it wants from every other language it comes across.

That is what makes it so fun to play with. And it’s also what makes English so difficult to work with.

The real problem with some novels, as I see it, isn’t mangled words. It’s this: proper punctuation is vital for the reader to understand and enjoy what you have written.

Punctuation acts as traffic signals, regulating the flow of words in such a way that the reader doesn’t realize it’s there. Instead, they are completely involved in the book.

You don’t have to invest in a library of books on style and writing (even though I can’t pass them up). I have done the work for you by condensing basic punctuation into seven painless rules in this article from last May. It should get you on the right path, punctuation-wise. https://conniejjasperson.com/2025/05/26/self-editing-part-one-7-easy-to-remember-rules-of-punctuation-writing/

An author’s personal voice and style affect the overall readability of their finished product. Good readability is achieved by authors who have developed three traits: understanding of the craft, a touch of rebellion, and wordcraft.

Understanding of the craft: Readers expect certain things of prose, things that go beyond the author’s voice and style. I suggest keeping to generally accepted grammatical practices when constructing sentences. Consider purchasing and using a style guide. This is handy to have when questions arise.
Rebellion: We love it when authors successfully choose to break the accepted rules. They are successful because they do so in a consistent manner, and the reader becomes used to it.
Wordcraft: The way the author phrases things, and the words he/she chooses, combined with his/her knowledge of the language and accepted usage. Perhaps they aren’t afraid to use invented word combinations, such as wordcraft (word+craft). They deliberately choose the context in which their words are placed.

Simply having a unique style does not make your work fun to read. You must meet the reader’s expectations regarding sentence construction, or they will become confused and put the book down. If they review it, they won’t be kind. “Did not finish” is not a good review.

As you are developing your style, remember: we want to challenge our readers, but not so much that they put our work down out of frustration.

Most Indies can’t rely on their names to sell books. That requires marketing, a can of worms I am not qualified to open. But I do know this: there is no point in spending the time and money trying to market a book rife with errors and garbled sentences.

What you choose to write and how you write it is like a fingerprint. It will change and mature as you grow in your craft, but it will always be recognizably yours.