chriseis

[chriseis]

Pacing Through Sentence Length in Writing

You ever notice how a scene can feel like it’s dragging or speeding up based solely on the length of the sentences? Sentence length isn't just a technical detail—it’s a pacing tool. When used right, it can control the speed and tension of your story. Here’s how:

Short Sentences = Speed, Tension, Impact

Short, snappy sentences are like quick breaths, instantly pulling the reader’s attention. They mimic fast action, nervous energy, or urgent thoughts. They create momentum. Think of action scenes or emotional moments—often, less is more.

Example: The door slammed shut. His heart raced. She was gone.

In just three sentences, you feel the urgency, the chaos, and the emotional weight of the moment. It’s all about breaking up the narrative with these quick hits to keep the reader on edge.

Long Sentences = Build-up, Reflection, Depth

On the flip side, long sentences slow things down, adding complexity, reflection, or tension. They’re great for moments of introspection, world-building, or setting a scene in rich detail. These sentences create a flow, pulling the reader into the character’s headspace or the atmosphere of the moment.

Example: The wind howled through the narrow alley, carrying the distant sounds of a city that never seemed to sleep, never seemed to rest, and in that eternal hum, he wondered, not for the first time, if he would ever find peace here or if, like everyone else who tried to escape the shadows, he would simply become another part of the city’s endless noise.

Here, the length of the sentence mimics the complexity of the thoughts—heavy, reflective, almost hypnotic. It builds tension not with action but with an overwhelming feeling of being stuck or trapped in thought.

Combining Both = Dynamic Flow

The real magic happens when you mix short and long sentences. This creates a rhythm—suddenly, a break in the flow, a quick shock, and then back to a longer, more drawn-out moment. It reflects real life: quick bursts of action or emotion followed by moments of pause or thought.

Example: He reached for the door. It was locked. His heart pounded, each beat a reminder of how badly he needed this. There were no other options. There was no way out. The key could be anywhere. And he could not afford to wait any longer.

TL;DR:

Long sentences = build tension, create depth, set mood. Short sentences = ramp up urgency, show action, make an impact. Mastering this flow is a game-changer for pacing!

[chriseis]

LOVE

Love. It is something...that sounded so mysterious.

Love. The passionate feeling we feel deep within our throbbing hearts.

Love. Love is something that is truly hard to describe and give an accurate definition because love is something undefined.

Honestly, I am someone unaware of what love is. If you ever let me describe love, you probably won’t be satisfied with my answer. For me, love is eating together with family. For me, love is laughing together with your friends. Love doesn’t have to be “intimate”. 

In our present generation, teenagers have different perceptions about this matter. Nowadays, love is defined as the “intimacy” between you and your lover. It is hard for me to define love with such perception because I have never been into any of this. 

Nonetheless, I can say that love gave a big impact into our world. We wouldn’t have appreciated one another if it wasn’t because of love. Love is unseen yet it touched our hearts with such softness like feathers against our skin. 

Love let us experience various things that will let us learn for our own convenience. Love taught us disappointment, pain, sadness and joy. All of which existed because we had love. We learned patience, understanding and kindness because of it. Though it may seem that love is complicated, for me, it is us humans that makes love complicated when in fact, just like life, love is simple. 

Love may be ugly in the eyes of other people, it also has its own twists and turns. In the end, its still beautiful. IT just depends on us how we look onto love.

[chriseis]

Plot Twist

   Many things happened within the seventeen years of my existence. I have the happiest and the saddest moments in my life. Though I’m happy living my life with my friends and family, certain memories still come back in my mind.

   On the year 2012, my mother greeted us with the beautiful news. She was pregnant. I remembered how cheerful we were. We were smiling and we kept on talking about the future baby.

   We were so excited back then. Within the next few months, we made sure to take care of our mother. We would always feel her tummy and anticipate for the baby to kick. We even made a list for the baby’s possible names. It was fun.

   When the year 2013 struck, we were even more thrilled. Five more months to go and our youngest brother would be welcomed in this world. we were expeting for him to be delivered on the month of May. The baby clothes were already set. The baby bottles and toys were already there. The crib was already clean. Then there came the month of April that year. It was already the eighth month. It was very memorable. My father.s birthday was already near by that time.

   It was a day before my father’s birthday that gave us the biggest surprise. My mother gave birth. She was quickly brought to the nearest hospital in town. We were woken up by my aunt, telling us about the sudden delivery. It wasn’t even the time for her to give birth yet. After waiting for a few more hours, my father came home from the hospital. the baby has been successfully delivered through cesarian. We were so relieved. We actually considered the baby as an advance birthday gift for my father. 

   James Andy Perez. It was the name my mother chose herself for my new baby brother. After a few weeks of being confined in the hospital, my parents came home without the baby which made us wonder why. They told us that since Andy was premature, he have to stay in the hospital for a few more days.  

   A few days more, my mother had to come back to the hospital. this time, she brought me with her. We walked down long hallways and i couldn’t help but skip on my steps out of happiness that I’ll be seeing the baby for the first time. We finally reached the Pediatric ward and my mother went in alone. I only peeked through the small room’s glass window and the sight of my baby brother made me smile from ear to ear. 

   Two weeks after the visit, my mother finally brought Andy home. We were cheering and excited. On the next few days, all I did was to take videos of him. I was happy just having those short clips in my phone but I never thought that those will be the last.

   May 17, 2013 gave me one of the most painful heart breaks. It was around 6 in the morning when we were woken up by my mother’s shouting. She was shouting Andy’s name over and over again. When I finally woke up to my senses, I realized what she was shouting about. Andy, my baby brother, wasn’t breathing anymore. 

   My mother was crying. She was hysterical while shaking my baby brother in her arms. She was trying to wake him up and make him breathe again. Then my father stopped her. He knew it was too late. Andy’s skin was cold and dark. He was gone.

   It was already six years since it happened yet it gave a scar on my heart. Our precious angel has left us something that my family and I will surely treasure for life. Andy left us memories. Those memories may not be that long but it was enough for us. As long as his memories are there, he will always stay alive within us.

[chriseis]

My Bai

   For the almost four years of the wonderful friendship she gave to me, along with our other friends, I can say that we have known each other well.

   Berly B. Del Mundo is a 17 year old girl with long straight hair, amazing brown eyes and chubby cheeks. She also has thick eyebrows and has a heart-shaped face. She is taller than me and really prefers wearing jeans and shirts than dresses. Berly always have her bracelets on her wrists and always pull her hair up in a ponytail or have it braided. She had a pair of alloy earrings pierced on her earlobes. 

   She is a girl with whom we could always lean on whenever we feel down. She would always try her best when doing things she really loves to do and always notices things easily around her. Whenever she feels sad, disappointed or hurt, she tries to keep it to herself. Berly always makes sure that we’re fine. She would tell me things that she seldomly shares to others. She is a type of girl who really faces the problems and always tries to keep firm. 

   She is someone who could easily make someone smile and a person who will surely treasure her loved ones. 

[chriseis]

Most Memorable Places

   I grew up in the home where my father grew up, too. That house was my favorite out of the three houses that I’ve lived in.

      It was a very simple house.It was two storeys tall and was made of cement and wood. It was a place with a simple cement floor, wooden ceiling and fluorescent lights. It was very welcoming. That house was a very warm place where my family and I talked, ate, slept and played around.

   Upstairs, the floor was made of wood, extending to the end of the small hall and always felt warm under the soles of my bare feet, contradicting the cold cemented floor downstairs. I never missed how the house smelled like my father’s cooking or the smell of the wood under the sunlight’s touch.

   It held so much memories in within its walls. Sometimes, my grandfather would bring out his guitar and strum its strings, singing to the classic songs of sadness, joy, love and pain. I would watch my father cook. My siblings and I run around to play. Even my grandmother’s death was witnessed by the corners of that home. 

   Every time I see the old wooden table or the ceiling or the stairs and the floor, the serenity in my heart blooms like a flower. Unconsciously, the place had already enveloped my heart with its everlasting warmth. One that I will never forget.

   It was April 20, 2019. A hot sunny day that has remained memorable and has been stored in the depths of my mind. A brand new neighborhood and a new place to stay in. We left our home and came to a new one. This time, it was the place where my mother grew up. It was an old house but still intact, mostly composed of wood. It was slightly elevated from the ground and much smaller than our previous home. The wooden floor was hotter. There was no ceiling and the roof was too close to our liking. 

   It wasn’t as welcoming as what I have expected it to be. There was something missing. Something in me felt empty...like a jar of water that people thought to be full well in fact, it contained nothing. The people around us weren’t that welcoming either. They were mere strangers.

   Living in that home wasn’t the same as before. Adjustments and much more struggles. One of which was the death of my youngest brother. 25 days old, born on the eighth month of my mother’s pregnancy. My heart felt like a crumpled paper. Too much pain.

      On the way there, we have to pass through Villalon drive, known for the location of the Villalon Mansion. The road was always silent despite of the houses nearby. The gates to the Villalon Mansion was there, painted in red and rust. 

   Six, seven, eight in the evening. When I came from school and came home by those hours of the night, passing through Villalon drive was something I never want to look back upon. The road was cold, dark and empty. It felt like the darkness of the road itself was eating me whole. As the cold wind passes through my skin on my way home, my eyes would do anything just to not look at anything close to the gates of the Villalon mansion or the Villalon drive itself. It always gave me goosebumps. The silence was so deafening. And when the jeepney made it pass the Villalon drive, the wild beating of my heart calms down. There’s absolutely no way I’ll ever look at Villalon drive at night.