Why are sentence starters so important?
Sentence starters are one of those features of a text that catch the reader's eye only when they are constantly repeated. The lack of variety is noticeable and boring. "You went to the window and looked out. You didn't know what to do. You ...was so confident yesterday... You began to sob. (...)" A text with a recurring sentence beginning with the same personal pronoun always seems monotonous and monotonous.
Instead, you should use many different sentence starters. Then they won't stand out at all and the reader can focus on the content and plot. "You went to the window and looked out. Desperately she pressed her forehead against the icy windowpane. With a deep sob, she turned away, thinking wistfully of her confidence of yesterday, which had now so quickly vanished. (...)"
When in the book should you care about sentence starters?
You've got your book idea, living Figures and a clear Action structure and you just want to write, to put your thoughts on paper and not pay attention to a thoughtful and sophisticated writing style for the time being? That's good. If you spend too long pondering sentence beginnings in the first draft, it will quickly lead to a Writer's block and nothing works. When immersed in the flow of writing, it can happen to any writer to repeat themselves. Don't worry about your sentence starters and stylistic subtleties until you revise.
But how can you start your sentences so you don't fall into boring patterns over and over again? Your sentence starters don't have to be fancy or original. It's all about not getting lost in monotony.
What are the different types of sentence starters?
The more you read, the easier it will be for you to vary your sentence starters. There are countless possibilities and approaches for this. You can start either with names or personal pronouns, as well as with nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, question words or numbers.
Adverbs in particular offer many possibilities. You can separate two actions in time: "He closed the door. Afterwards, he put the key aside." You can also describe a fact in more detail: "This means that ..." Or you can connect two facts: "He also found that...".
Examples for sentence beginnings
Name: Karl cleaned up.
Personal pronoun: He tidied up.
Noun: The room looked untidy.
Adjective: Frustrated/angry, he cleaned up.
Verb: Cleaning up is not one of his strong suits.
Adverb: He then cleaned up.
Question words: Why the cleaning up bugged him so much, he didn't know himself.
Numbers: Three times he had cleaned this room today.
You can make a whole list of sentence starters to add variety to your text. It can make a difference whether you are writing a non-fiction book or a novel. While all of the example beginnings listed below can be used in any genre, there are still examples that are more likely to be found in an explanatory, sober non-fiction text, or those that are particularly suited to an epic text. The ideas and suggestions can help you, add to them with your own ideas.
Which sentence starters are appropriate for non-fiction and technical books?
It's not just the facts that are in a non-fiction or trade paperback convince, but also a sophisticated writing style. This includes varied sentences. In factual and technical texts, there is usually a lot of description, definition and explanation. Your sentences could start like this, for example:
Describe and explain
- Based on
- Exemplary
- This means that
- By definition
- Exemplary
- According to
- Following
- According to
- Viewed objectively
- Subjective view
- The fact is that
- In fact
Delimit or connect
- For this reason
- Also
- Therefore
- Accordingly
- Accordingly
- Therefore
- On the one hand... on the other hand
- Supplementary
- Consequently
- Nevertheless
- In contrast
- In addition to
- Nevertheless
- Nevertheless
- Although
- Although
- For one thing ... for another
- Additionally
- In addition
Close or summarize
- Finally
- So
- Ultimately
- Ultimately
- Finally
- Finally
- In summary
- Last but not least
What sentence starters go with novels?
When writing a novel, you have to explain actions that are sequential or distinct from each other. You also have to characterize characters, and many adjectives can be used. There are many things to consider when you write a write a book want.
The list of sentence starters for novelists could go on and on, and you can add your own examples and ideas to it.
Time classification and delimitation
- As
- First
- Next.
- Subsequently
- Soon after
- Before
- Thereafter
- Then
- Thereupon
- Marriage
- At this very moment.
- Yesterday
- Occasionally
- Coming soon
- At the same time
- Today
- Afterwards
- Meanwhile
- Meanwhile
- Morning
- After
- Now
- Suddenly
- Just went to
- Immediately
- Meanwhile,
- Untitled
- While
- Meanwhile,
- First
- At the same time
- At the same time
- At the hour
Describe scenes, places and characters
- Anxious
- Inviting
- Hilarious
- Banal
- Bewitching
- Admiring
- Bitter
- Bitterly Evil
- Bizarre
- Brutal
- Chaotic
- Charismatic
- Characteristic
- Charming
- Discreet
- Dull
- Gloomy
- Eager
- Ice Cold
- Disappointed
- Refreshed
- Taken
- Anticipatory
- Incensed
- Subtle
- Nasty
- Peaceful
- Fresh
- Happy
- Frosty
- Terrible
- Captivated
- Mysterious
- Glittering
- Grinning
- Creepy
- Hastily
- Cheerful
- Hysterical
- Imaginative
- Inspiring
- Inspired
- Interesting
- Interested
- Cheering
- Jovial
- Jubilant
- Whooping
- Klamm
- Crumbly
- Artistic
- Short of breath
- Short tempered
- Laughing
- Smiling
- Annoying
- Vicious
- Lau
- Moody
- Sorrowful
- Shining
- Flooded with light
- Lascivious
- Funny
- Lustful
- Majestic
- Diverse
- Pithy
- Grumpy
- Compassionate
- Pity
- Medieval
- Natural
- Misty
- Nebulous
- Non-significant
- Nagging
- makeshift
- Sober
- Superficial
- Open
- Offensive
- Ominous
- Optimistic
- Sided
- Paranormal
- Perfect
- Personal
- Pessimistic
- In agony
- Tantalizing
- Croaking
- Yakking
- Whining
- QuickLiving
- Rancid
- Restless
- Perplexed
- Talkative
- Quiet
- Considerate
- Glorious
- Touching
- Wrinkly
- Sync and corrected by dr.jackson for
- Velvety
- Sandy
- Soft
- Sarcastic
- Blessed
- Bumbling
- Proudly
- Sardonic
- Brave
- Roaring
- Dreamy
- Sad
- Triumphant
- Defiantly
- Cloudy
- Entertaining
- Submissive
- Happy
- Relocate
- Mischievous
- Conciliatory
- Dreamy
- Confused
- Astonished
- Enraptured
- Daring
- Wonderful
- Dignified
- Desolate
- Fidgety
- Clamoring
- Destructive
- Grinding
- Angry
There's also a list of 101 sentence starters for inspiration on the blog learn-to-write.com
Conclusion
A text should not only be convincing in terms of content, but should also be varied. When you're writing the first draft of your book, don't get too caught up in stylistic subtleties. Avoid pondering sentence starters too early and letting them stop you. Check for varied sentence starters as you revise. It's best to have a list ready to check every now and then to see if sentence starters can be replaced or sentences reworded.
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