Putting Words in Order

When we talk about good writing, that can mean many things.  Maybe you’re saying’ it’s a genre you enjoy, or that the writer has mastered a specific technique.  Or maybe the themes resonate with you for personal reasons.

But maybe you mean that the book flowed naturally and felt easy to read.  Part of that means that the writer either followed the rules of English grammar — or broke them in ways that were consistent and felt logical. (Assuming you’re writing in English, of course.)  One of the most subtle ways to play with language is word order.

Every language has an accepted word order.  On a broad scale, English is Subject – Verb – Object.  (Ex. Ben threw the ball.)  Japanese is Subject – Object – Verb. (Ex. translates as Regarding Ben, the ball threw.)  You can see how the second sentence clunks a bit in English, because it is using grammar rules from another language.  This is why a translator would probably translate the word order too, and just say Ben threw the ball.  This helps us see why non-standard word order can make sentences feel convoluted or difficult to understand.  (Wait until you start looking at languages that use object – verb – subject word order — giving transliterated sentences that mean the opposite of what they should.)  But certain shifts in word order can be used intentionally to give a character or narrator a unique way of speaking.  (Think Yoda from Star Wars.)  Or it can be used to create conflict when different characters use language differently and misunderstand each other.

Even more subtly, there is a language rule about stacking adjectives.  Putting them out of order can make a speaker sound slightly off.  There is a story about JRR Tolkien as a child writing a story about a green great dragon, only to be put off writing for years after his mother explained that it couldn’t be a green great dragon, because word order demands it be a great green dragon, as the order is opinion – size – age – shape – color – origin – material – purpose – Noun.

I think English speakers tend to follow this order pretty much instinctively, because shifting it just, “sounds weird.”  But you could have a character or narrator who habitually shifts this order in a way that gives them a distinctive way of speaking, or reflects a different language origin or way of thinking.  (Just make it a consistent character trait, so it doesn’t sound like an occasional mistake on the part of the writer.)