Make Every Sentence a Striking Line
What is a sentence without intrigue? Without emotion, or a nice rhythmic flow? Nothing. It is nothing without vivid imagery or sensory details. It’s a shell that is empty, an abandoned house, a forest too dark to traverse.
Writing sentences as striking lines is necessary to captivate the audience and make them listen to what you have to offer. It’s the most difficult task in copywriting; to create an influence over the people.
The same goes for creative writing. Drafting novels, stories, etc. Everything requires a unique style, something that makes it stand apart from a plethora of others.
That’s why we came up with this post to show you the procedure of writing striking lines and grabbing every reader’s attention. This guide will cover practical tips for improvement in sentence writing and show you ways to overcome your mental blocks.
Understanding the Art of Writing
Below, we’ve established the meaning of the term ‘striking.’ Then, we discussed the importance of word choice, sentence structure, and the use of figurative language in writing interesting lines for the readers.
Defining The Meaning Of ‘Striking Line’
A striking line is something that leaves a lasting impression on the audience. It is a sentence that’s not only grammatically correct but part of the language that triggers the emotions of the reader.
It could be something memorable, or thought-provoking, forcing the reader to see beyond words and phrases.
For instance, consider the following line from the famous American Astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson.
‘The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you”
This line is striking to the reader’s perception of seeing the universe. Here, Neil clearly states that humans are physically and metaphorically too little to even begin comprehending the mysteries of space and time.
The Importance Of Word Choice
To create a striking line, one must always weigh in their words and choose what to say with precise vocabulary.
Consider this example:
| Striking | Non-Striking |
| Mr. Whiskers whispered as he whimpered to a sudden death. | Mr. Whiskers said a lot of words under his breath while dying. |
From the above example, we can see that the striking line can create a much stronger impact than the non-striking one.
In the striking sentence, the verb ‘said’ is replaced with ‘whispered’ gravitating the readers to a feeling of sympathy for Mr. Whiskers. The use of such strong verbs can enhance the emotions of the audience, making them influenced by your content.
There’s no doubt that writing a piece with striking lines is more painstaking than the other. However, people do appreciate the brains you’ve put in each line; the reward is slow but sure.
Structuring The Sentences Appropriately
Not only word choice, but the sentence structure is also important to distinguish between a strong and weak line.
By this, we mean to establish clarity in thoughts; mean what you say as direct as possible. Don’t rely on passive voice too much, instead, adopt an active tone to convey your words.
Using an active voice establishes a good reading rhythm and flow for the readers, making them inclined towards your writing. On the contrary, passive voice makes it hard for an average person to figure out what you’re trying to convey. For example:
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| I decided to go inside and check what was wrong. | The person who decided to go inside and check what was wrong was me. |
Neither of the sentences is grammatically wrong. But the line in the passive voice is just too long, boring, and uninteresting for the readers. It is also very poor to establish suspense in a thriller, which can make people lose interest in your craft.
Practical Tips to Make Every Sentence a Striking Line
After establishing the A, B, and C’s of striking lines, below are some practical tips and tricks to convert boring content into an interesting one. Follow along closely to avoid missing out on anything.
- Read Widely And Critically
To write interesting lines, one must read widely to expose themselves to different genres and writing styles.
For instance, you can read newspapers to understand how to capture the audience’s attention with elements like rhetorical questions, strong verbs, appeal to emotion, etc.
“America grieves, but will it act?”
This sentence was the headline of a New York Times publication after a tragic event of mass shooting took place in 2021.
Similarly, you can read autobiographies, fiction/non-fiction novels, and even poems to draw striking lines.
“I rise, I rise, I rise.”
This famous line is taken from Maya Angelou’s famous poem ‘Still I Rise.’ The repetition of words (Anaphora) is another powerful factor to make a simple sentence an interesting one.
Whilst reading a wide range of work, you must also possess the ability to critically analyze how authors have made their lines striking.
Identify effective techniques from accomplished writers and apply them to your work to make it worthy of praise.
- Practice Writing Regularly
Reading is important for writing, but practice is equally necessary. It will polish you up as a writer and help you create memorable words.
For that, we recommend creating a daily sentence challenge. In this exercise, you decide which element of writing you want to focus on for the day.
For example, imagery, metaphor, onomatopoeia, or any other literary device. Write a sentence that effectively uses the chosen element. Then, judge the craft on how well it’s capturing the desired feeling.
- Crack The Right Mindset
It’s important to focus while writing your crafts. You need a secluded space where there’s no one to disturb you. Try closing doors to avoid ambient noise and light; block out any factor that causes you to lose your calm.
The writing process requires a fresh mindset. So, if you’re feeling lethargic or tired with long shifts, take a break and rest. We know it’s important for you to meet the publication deadlines. But you should also prioritize your well-being to make the most useful crafts.
While working, make regular milestones to reward yourself with treats e.g., eating a snack, watching your favorite TV series, and so on. These things will keep you fresh, helping you to focus better when you return to your desk.
Remember, writing striking lines isn’t a leash-work. It’s a creative work that requires calm, composure, and enough time to ignite the right flames.
- Seek Feedback From Professionals
Polishing your prose to masterpieces often requires an external perspective. Professionals can offer valuable insights to transform your ordinary sentences into extraordinary lines.
They are masters of their crafts, able to spot potential in your words. They can offer pieces of advice to refine word choice and improve your overall writing style.
Besides the professionals, it’s also a good idea to get feedback from a layman’s perspective. Ask your loved ones to react to your lines. If it’s leaving an impact, chances are that the mass audience will be impressed, too. However, this isn’t a defined criteria.
Lastly, revise ruthlessly and make the required edits to polish up your craft and make it interesting. Remember, the people who are their biggest critics are the ones who achieve success.
- Use an Online Tool
We understand that the writer’s block is a real thing. It can be frustrating when nothing new is popping into the mind, leading to prolonged crafting times for complex pieces, and keeping you behind in posting schedules.
That’s why, we recommend using an online tool like the Editpad sentence generator. it will help you get new ideas for your striking lines by utilizing its advanced NLP algorithms. The tool will function according to your input parameters to make art in motion.
So, always look to utilize the said tools for your assistance and never run dry on unique thoughts.
Examples of Striking Sentences from Famous Authors
In this section, we wanted to cover some striking sentences from famous authors. We’d like to analyze them in detail to teach you the process of literature review and how you can make every sentence a striking line.
“To be or not to be, that is the question.”
This line is taken from Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet. It is a striking line, indeed, as it elaborates on an existential crisis between life and death using rhetorical power.
The sentence’s parallelism (to be or not to be) creates a nice reading rhythm that makes it so memorable for people.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
This sentence by F. Scott Fitzgerald represents the state of moving life and nostalgia coexisting in an, otherwise, peaceful sea of space and time.
Boats are metaphors for people and the current represents time and fate, the pull of the past. This line surely caught a lot of attention due to its ability to fully capture the phenomenon of living.
“A man can be destroyed but never defeated.”
Ernest Hemingway’s writing style is concise and direct, which is why his words have resonated with so many readers, worldwide.
His use of strong verbs like ‘destroyed’ appeals to the emotion of the reader, hence, making this line a striking one.
There are many more examples of striking sentences in modern literature. However, it won’t be possible to cover every single one of them in this article.
Final Words
In this article, we’ve learned everything there is to make a sentence a striking line. We first started by establishing the meaning of ‘striking line.’
Then, we learned about some tips to follow for making interesting sentences. These included reading a wide range of genres and writing styles, practicing regularly, cracking the right mindset, seeking feedback, and getting assistance from online tools.
Finally, we reviewed some great examples of striking lines from famous authors in the world, concluding our post.
