Quality Prose in Fiction
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What does Frank Herbert say about controlling reader's rhythm?
There's a 1969 interview with Frank Herbert, the author of the Dune series, where at one point he talks about something called phraseology, essentially the study of sentence structure. And he relates it to something he saw as being crucial in crafting quality prose for his works. And that's controlling the reader's rhythm. how do you control the reader's rhythm well he does that by varying the length of sentences varying sentence structure like putting the action at the front in one sentence and then at the end at the other and then he'll even make sure that the words within a sentence are of varying lengths so have a couple two syllable words couple one syllable words and maybe a three or four syllable word here and there, switch it up.
The goal is to keep his writing from being rhythmically monotonous. And people who do a lot of public speaking know that being deliberate in your pacing and varying your pacing is super important for maintaining the crowd's engagement. And this is true whether you're talking to a crowd of a thousand people or just one friend at a coffee shop. And Frank Herbert recognized this, but he took it further. He wanted to control the rhythm of his readers to harness the power of deliberate varying pace for the medium of print. Well, I say the medium of print, but interestingly enough, he didn't seem to see too much of a difference between the mediums of print and that of oral communication. Here's a quote from Frank Herbert from that 1969 interview.
I work orally because I think that language was spoken long before it was spoken. written. And I think that unconsciously, we still accept it as an oral transmission. So he's saying that he believes that even when reading a print book, that information is still ultimately being handled as if it was orally transmitted.
How does sentence structure affect quality prose?
As a blind guy, I can't really speak with much authority on the experience and mechanics of reading print. But the idea that all print communication is, in the end, oral communication feels right, doesn't it? Because humans have been communicating orally way before they've been communicating via writing. Oral communication is much, much more instinctive for us. We just haven't had the time to evolve, to internalize writing as a premium method of communication for us, right? Anyways, I thought it was really cool that a mid-20th century author like Frank Herbert, way before the popularization of audiobooks, recognized the importance of pace and the value of his writing sounding good when spoken out loud.
That said, pace is only one aspect of what can contribute to quality writing. Today, Red Sail are going to attempt to define quality prose. This is Audiobook Cafe. I'm Jacob Szymanski. Red Sail is the host of My Life in Books on AMI-audio. He comes on the show once every two weeks. Red, welcome back.
Thank you very much for having me back, Jacob. That's a fantastic quote from Frank Herbert. And yes, very much so. The oral tradition of storytelling, I don't think, can be overlooked. The Iliad and the Odyssey were sung and spoken before they were ever written down. I think we need to remember that. And actually, as you say, celebrate it in the growth of audiobooks. We're merely returning to the source.
There's something full circle about it, to go back to crowding around a storyteller and just listening enraptured to this person who has fantastic public speaking skills. It's a real skill also to just communicate it well, and that's when audiobook narrators come in, right?
Yeah, very much so. And we've said it before, a good audiobook narrator can make a mediocre book sound fantastic. A bad audiobook narrator can kill even the best book.
Facts. And one of the reasons I feel like this idea that all written communication ultimately is oral communication in the end, it feels right, is that when you're reading print, you have a little voice in your head, right? There's a process that turns those words into spoken language. It has a rhythm to it, like one word at a time. You're not just taking in blocks of information at a time.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What does Frank Herbert say about controlling reader's rhythm?
0:03–2:13
2
How does sentence structure affect quality prose?
2:13–5:17
3
What does it mean for prose to feel immersive?
5:17–8:55
4
How can pacing influence the reader's experience?
8:55–18:33
5
What common writing advice can enhance prose quality?
18:33–27:11
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Audiobook Café
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