By Patti Jo Amerein

A superb editor as soon as informed me that one other good editor as soon as informed her she was falling into the behavior of grouping her descriptors into units of three. Allison Ok Williams had identified that though following this frequent “rule of threes” could really feel rhythmic and comfy to the author, it might probably result in a monotonous and predictable expertise for the reader. Even worse, to the eager reader, it might come throughout as lazy writing, just like the 900th time a personality was tall, darkish, and brooding.

My editor, Nina Lichenstein, shared her story whereas she was serving to me fine-tune an essay and noticed me heading towards the identical ordinary lure. Nina laughed out loud when she obtained to the tip of my 500-word piece and realized I used to be making the precise mistake she had made, solely she had written a full guide manuscript earlier than it was delivered to her consideration!

As I went again over my work, I clearly noticed what my editor was speaking about. All of my adjectives, adverbs, and descriptive phrases had been clumped collectively into completely satisfied little teams of three—triple qualifiers and modifiers neatly laid out on the web page in a gradual, if not boring, predictable type.

However fortunately, with one easy pay-it-forward motion, Nina taught me a priceless lesson early on in my profession, altering how I method writing: with rhythm in thoughts.

I don’t have a PhD or an MFA behind my identify, however as an avid reader—{and professional} dancer—I can see how rhythm shapes good writing. I’ve relied on pure instincts and the tempo and timing instilled in my physique from years of dancing to get phrases down on the web page. Although I devour as many books, podcasts and workshops on craft as potential, observe my favourite authors, learn and write every day, right here’s the factor: typically, we don’t even see the patterns we lean on.

Adjective stacking, descriptor clustering, and/or the order of modifiers are all prone to being exploited by the rule of three—that catchy little rhythmic rule we discovered as kids. Early on we had been taught that when phrases or concepts are available in three’s they’re simpler to recollect as a result of the sample feels pure and balanced: “Hickory, dickory, dock.” “Snap, crackle, pop.” “Cease, drop, and roll!”  “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” In highschool, English academics informed us that utilizing these compelled triads offers our writing a extra polished and cohesive construction. It feels pure. Secure. The rule of threes’ common attraction lies in the truth that our brains are hardwired to search for patterns—and three is the smallest quantity that creates a recognizable one.

However writing that excites and surprises lives exterior tidy patterns, within the jagged edges the place element doesn’t match. Perhaps the actual work isn’t simply studying the principles but additionally realizing when to interrupt them—when to let a sentence breathe, when to go away two beats, when so as to add a 3rd or a fourth, and when to cease. Good writing, like good choreography, isn’t about being protected, it’s about creating chaos, disrupting rhythm and difficult symmetry. It’s about taking probabilities, mixing it up, stepping exterior the boundaries of security and giving your viewers a wild experience.

In the event you’ve ever seen a Las Vegas manufacturing present, you’ll keep in mind the sensory overload that makes up the spectacle—large units, extravagant lighting designs, loud music, and delightful dancers in all places. I as soon as labored on the earth’s costliest present, Donn Arden’s Jubilee! The present opened in 1980 with a forged of almost 100 dancers and singers, at a staggering manufacturing price of ten million {dollars}. It was a problem for the administrators to maneuver everybody across the stage seamlessly with out us working into one another or falling off the slender passerelle. Through the finale, the place all of the performers are on stage collectively, we had been positioned into teams of three, 4, and 5. These altering patterns supplied fascinating motion and dynamic choreography which in flip saved the viewers engaged: it left room for them to stay curious, to query their very own anticipations.

Writing, like dance, advantages from unpredictable motion and circulation. Our readers need to be caught off guard. They anticipate the sudden. The jolt. The pause. It’s on this inventive area the place the readers and viewers change into inventive collaborators. That is the place artwork electrifies.

My editor did me an enormous favor by serving to me see, early on, the frequent sample my writing was falling into. Perhaps now you’ll discover it in your writing too. If not, superior! If that’s the case, attempt studying your work out loud. Discover the rhythm. Does it rise and fall just like the solar rises within the morning and units within the night to gasoline the tides that roll out and in in opposition to laughter that fades to silence? Or is it a mountain, chilly and unmoved? You possibly can decide the texture of your piece by the rhythm you create. However concentrate on complacency, and keep in mind—three mice ran up the clock, however solely two got here down.

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Patti Jo Amerein is an rising author who shares tales of her years rising up in Las Vegas, the place she turned a showgirl, a mom, a divorcee’, and an enormous risk-taker. She now lives in Washington state, the place she teaches Pilates and tries to remain heat. Her work might be discovered at River Enamel/Stunning Issues, In A Flash Lit Magazine, and 5 Minutes.

Tagged: breaking the sample, las vegas child, rule of threes, writing craft