The Musicality of Prose

Just as the notes should match the mood of the music, the length of the sentences, the words  chosen, the sound of the words themselves are all important elements in writing convincing emotion-evoking prose.

You know it when you read it, especially if you’re a writer. They are the passages you walk away from thinking “Wow. How did s/he do that?”

I don’t have a formula or a recipe for making this happen, per se, but I think that good writing begins with good awareness: being cognizant of the sounds of words and the feelings they evoke as we write them. Perhaps even more importantly, a writer should consider how punctuation can enhance (or detract from) his or her intended meaning.

I won’t be writing music any time soon– like sketching, it’s not my forte— but I do believe in, and attempt to implement, musicality in prose.

What passages or authors make you say “Wow. How did s/he do that?”