Have variety in your sentences!
Aside from all the grammar, and sentence patterns, and structure, there are basically just two kinds of sentences. Both are based on one core idea, and elaborated from there. The two types are: 1. Those in which the details come after the core idea. 2. Those in which the details come before or inside the core idea. Some sentences use a combination of both. There is one core idea in every sentence, and this idea is what you have when you remove all the adverbs and adjectives and phrases from a sentence.
Coming into the darkened room, his heart beating wildly, he heard a hideous groaning which filled the night with the sound of evil. (The core idea is he heard groaning. Everything else is descriptive detail.)
1. Rabbits hopped.
Details after: Rabbits hopped, frolicking in the sunshine and chasing each other through the long meadow grass as they played in the warm summer air.
Details before: 1) Frolicking in the sunshine and chasing each other through the long meadow grass as they played in the warm summer air, rabbits hopped.
2) Rabbits, frolicking in the sunshine and chasing each other through the long meadow grass hopped as they played in the warm summer air.
2. The moon is full.
Details after: The moon is full, casting a silvery light over the countryside, giving a luster to all in its glow.
Combination--before and after: Casting a silvery light over the countryside, giving a luster to all in its glow, the moon is full, and at its loveliest.
3. They entered the building.
Details before: Laughing and stumbling up the steps, they entered the building.
Details after: They entered the building, laughing and stumbling up the steps.
4. Bettina bought her friend a gift.
Details before: Excited about the surprise birthday party and imagining the good time everyone would have, Bettina bought her friend a gift.
Details inside and after: Bettina, excited about the surprise birthday party and imagining the good time everyone would have, bought her friend a gift, anxious to see the look of joy on her face.
5. The judges thought Edward the best runner.
Details after: The judges thought Edward the best runner, not only fast, but with a good starting technique and flawless hurdling.
Combination: The ten cynical judges, tired of poor performances and sloppy style, thought Edward the best runner, not only fast, but with a good starting technique and flawless hurdling.
So why should you learn all this? Look at the sentence "Trevor laughed." Sometimes a sentence like this is just what you want to say. But sometimes, you need a bit more. You can add a few details before, after, or inside the sentence ( or all three places) to give it more interest for your readers or listeners:
Trevor laughed loudly. With no warning, Trevor laughed. Trevor joyously laughed at the monkey's antics.
Or for a lot of detail: With no warning, Trevor joyously laughed loudly at the monkey's antics.
Now try some sentences of your own. Add details after the sentences below until they are 10-15 words long. Remember, do not change the core idea, just enhance it.
1. The wind blew.
2. The store was closed.
3. Julia enjoyed the meal.
4. They had a good time.
5. Raymond found Shelly charming.
Now add details before the core idea to make a sentences that are 10-15 words long.
1. CC lost her connection.
2. Kevin wants a new car.
3. The river was dry.
4. Morty loves to sing.
5. Austin thinks television silly.
Using some of the sentences you have created, try adding or re-arranging the details. Put some before, inside, and after the core idea.
Some more ways to add interest to your sentences:
Look at the examples below to get see how you can add details to a subject. You can add description with appositives, adjectives and various phrases and clauses to do this.
My car, burning oil and belching smoke, still starts on cold days. (participial phrase)
Jill, the woman who loves to tease, comes to class every day. (appositive)
The cat, Xerxes the Bold, is a champion. (appositive)
Being bald as billiard balls, her family wears wigs. (participial phrase)
Her family, the Cuttlebrinks, wears wigs. (appositive)
Her unconventional, multi-generational family wears wigs. (adjectives)
Try changing the sentences below to show more detail about the subject:
1. The boat sailed out of the harbor.
2. Jeffery's attitude upset her.
3. Her cooking wasn't that tasty.
4. Dogs were barking loudly.
You can add interest and detail to the verb by telling something about the action--describe it, or show how it progresses.
Tony loves racing cars better than anything else. (answers "how" or "in what manner" Tony loves)
Mo and Larry were teasing Curly without a pause. (prepositional phrase showing "how" or "in what manner" they teased)
Fifi shrilly, consistently yelled at her children to behave. (adverbs)
Mr. Greenjeans cleaned the cows' stalls after hiding in the chicken house all day.
Try changing the sentences below to show more detail about the verb:
1. The horse is running around the track.
2. The announcer read the news.
3. Aunt Tilly's cake burned.
4. Long John Silver buried the treasure.
3. Add to the object or to the entire sentence:
I like classical music, of any period and style, when the orchestra is a good one.
The team played the game, an important championship match, with many fouls and penalties.
Yolanda met Sean Connery, the famous Irish movie star, last year.
We heard the siren, a severe weather warning device, wailing for five minutes.
Change these sentences to show more detail to the object:
1. Whitney reads poems.
2. Rex studies business.
3. They listened to the news.
4. Paul saw Officer Mendez.
In all the sample sentences, appositive phrases were used to add detail to the object. Here are some simple appositives added to the following sentences ( a simple appositive is one or two words, renaming the object (noun or pronoun).
Sandi loves Moochy her dog.
The movie Out of Africa was a big success.
We named our pet fish Jaws.
Will sang a solo, "Let It Be Me".
Try adding a simple appositive to the following sentences ( a simple appositive is one or two words, renaming the object (noun or pronoun).
1. Clark enjoyed the speech.
2. Bev called the cat.
3. The trumpet player gave an encore.
4. We played a party game.
Using the sentences you just wrote, add more detail to the appositives and make longer sentences.
Congratulations! You now know how to add interest and variety to your writing. Writing should sound as natural as your speech. You talk with many kinds and lengths of sentences; you should write that way also. Sentences are not carved in stone--you can change them around almost anyway you want. Grammar gives you the outline of sentence structure, but what you do inside that outline is up to you.