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It could be called the most successful technique ever, used by all great writers and in all effective writing to one degree or another, except that the word “technique” doesn’t quite do it justice; it is the thing which, as readers, we most look for even when we don’t know we’re looking for it; the principle which underlies almost all emotional and spiritual effects in writing and in life.

It can be summed up in one word: rhythm.

What is rhythm? More usually defined in literary terms as “the measured flow of words and phrases in verse or prose as determined by the relation of long and short or stressed and unstressed syllables”, there is a broader definition, which, as we will see, encompasses much more.

Rhythm is any kind of movement or change characterised by the regular recurrence or repetition of strong and weak parts.

This means a regular patterned flow of sounds and movement in speech, music, writing, dance and other activities, creating, as it works, physical or mental or emotional or spiritual effects or some combination of these.

The key things are regularity and repetition.

We usually think of rhythm in relation to music, where we can clearly hear it and
often even physically sense it. It’s less obvious to us, perhaps, in writing, but it is so
prevalent there that, once you really notice it, you’ll be amazed that you never
noticed it so consciously before. It’s been working on you “behind the scenes”, if
you like; you have been affected by it just as any reader has.

The full extent of its power explains much of what makes great literature work.

In music there is what is called Regular Rhythm, meaning the evenly accented
(stressed) beat. You have encountered this already, perhaps, in poetry and in
discussions or readings of Shakespeare’s verse -putting it simply, usually in Shakespeare there’s a strong followed by a weak “beat” through whole lines in every one of his plays. This is one example of rhythm at the level of words.

Syncopated Rhythm in music is the placing of upbeats along with downbeats at regular or irregular intervals. While this also happens at word level, you will more clearly appreciate it when you examine the structure of novels or plays or film scripts and see that successful authors place upbeats and downbeats carefully to create this broader rhythm. Shakespeare, again, usually has a moment of comedy after a tragic event -this isn’t a lucky accident and isn’t just “comic relief”: it’s the technique of using rhythm to create large scale effects.

In a Stopped Rhythm in music, there are regular distinct halts to the flow of melody,
but all the beats are there, they are simply regularly halted for an interval. This
“pause” or “silence” is filled in by the listener. You might not easily spot this one in
writing simply because it has to do with something not there -but if you think
about it, often it’s what is not seen on screen or said in a novel or left out of a
narrative which is important.

It’s precisely because of the rhythm established in the reader’s mind that an expectation is set up -a prime source of emotional and spiritual effects.

Accented rhythm is where one or more beats receives a stronger stress or accent.
Accent in a musical rhythm can be done with volume, duration, pitch or tone quality
(timbre). You’ll be able to see that this emphasis placed on one element, either by
importance, length of time, mood or context, is part of the woof and warp of stories.

The regular omission of one or more beats is called, naturally enough, Omitted Beat.
Time may have to be counted over two or more measures in order to regularly
omit something. This is often visible in literature at chapter level, but to some degree is used all the way down to word level too -the missing but expected phrase, the tense silence, the dramatic pause.

Harold Pinter, Nobel Laureate and world-renowned English playwright, poet, actor,  and political activist has written nearly thirty stage plays, almost as many screenplays, and a great deal of other works. His dramas, as well as involving strong conflicts among ambivalent characters are often marked by theatrical pauses and silences -in fact, his reputation partly rests on the power of the Omitted Beat.

In Added Beat, as you might expect, additional strong or, generally, weak beats are
added to the rhythm in a consistent or inconsistent manner. This, in music, can be
heard in drums of all kinds -in writing, this kind of rhythm is often used to affect pace, slowing things down or speeding things up, often at sentence level.

Any and all rhythms are made up of the six basic types above. They can be
employed in complex patterns. Repetition is what makes rhythm work, and its main effect is based on that recurrence, expected, fulfilled or otherwise.

Rhythm of whatever kind establishes a relationship.

This is how the writer enters into a relationship with a reader he or she has never met and is never likely to see: a mutual trust or affinity develops between the creator of the work and the participator in it based on repetition and regularity.

Think of an audience in a theatre: it is not merely a group of spectators, unless the
play is failing. The people sitting there are participators. What encourages them
to participate?

Rhythm.

An audience in rapport participates in small or large ways with the performer or the artist or work of art, often by vocal or body motion. In writing, this actually is a component of the action of reading -entering into a rhythm, consciously or unconsciously, with words on a page.

Reader participation in literature is achieved by:

1.  A reliance on the even recurrence of the rhythm of words, ideas, images, themes,
characters, any of the elements of a story or essay.

2.  The ability to predict they will recur, established by regular repetition.

3.  A formation of a relationship based on such reliable predictions.

4.  Permitting the audience or readers to fill in gaps or significances.

Regular omission of a beat or step or full explanation causes the audience to fill it in
for themselves and encourages physical or mental participation. Just as we stamp
our feet or clap our hands to rhythm in music, so we enter into a piece of fiction,
mentally and silently “stamping” imaginatively with the beat of the book.

Master authors are deft at this; lesser writers often mess it up and leave our rhythmic anticipations disappointed.

All life could be said to be a repeating pulse and ebb and surge of motion and
becomes difficult when rhythmic prediction cannot occur. As human beings we
become anxious when rhythms are upset. It can be a relief to participate in
predictable rhythms in a novel or other kind of story. It can feel safe and reassuring. If the rhythms are exciting, the writing is also exciting. Therefore participation in predictable rhythm usually brings pleasure of various kinds and even joy.

When one changes rhythm within a single work one creates the same effect as in
music - a disharmony occurs, jolting the audience or reader. The reader has
predicted the rhythm but the prediction does not come true. Thus the rewards of
entering into a successful rhythm can be lost to one degree or another. If the rhythm
recurs, the reader’s confidence is restored.

Master authors often use disharmony and even disappointment within a work to set the reader up for the “joy” of a restored harmony. A writer can begin an unwanted rhythm, use the reader’s objection or disappointment to focus attention and then transform it into a wanted rhythm. What we call dramatic tension is really an offshoot of this -no tension would exist if all rhythms were entirely regular
and predictable.

Emotional ups and downs in stories are really the outward signs of rhythmic manipulation.

New rhythms can be used to attract attention. If used successfully, a writer can obtain participation from the reader with a new pattern, but it’s important not to jolt or upset an already-established rhythm. To be successful, you have to know what at least some of these existing patterns are.

Life itself goes through time -day and night present us with a rhythm, the yearly
seasons are another rhythm: some are too large or slow to attract any attention. Rhythm, used in art forms, must therefore slow or speed or change the expected rhythms of ordinary life in order to stand out and command attention.

Rhythm can excite, soothe, lull and arouse any kind of emotion.

A rhythm slightly below the usual or expected rhythm of a piece of writing will
depress or relax readers; a rhythm marginally above the usual rhythm will capture
and interest them.

Rhythm and its expression is the basic key to all writing. Using it well is the most
successful technique ever because it underlies so much else.

Sound a key note and then establish a rhythm.

Grant Hudson B.A. (Hons.)
Inner Circle Writers’ Group
P.O. Box 546
East Grinstead
West Sussex
RH19 4XJ
United Kingdom

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