"Learn to alert the reader as soon as possible to any change in mood from the previous sentence. At least a dozen words will do this job for you: 'but,' 'yet,' 'however,' 'nevertheless,' 'still,' 'instead,' 'thus,' 'therefore,' 'meanwhile,' 'now,' 'later,' 'today,' 'subsequently' and several more. I can't overstate how much easier it is for readers to process a sentence if you start with 'but' when you're shifting direction. Or, conversely, how much harder it is if they must wait until the end to realize that you have shifted."
Alex Kudera’s award-winning novel, Fight for Your Long Day (Atticus Books), was drafted in a walk-in closet during a summer in Seoul, South Korea. Auggie’s Revenge (Beating Windward Press) is his second novel. His numerous short stories include “Frade Killed Ellen” (Dutch Kills Press), “Bombing from Above” (Heavy Feather Review), and “A Thanksgiving” (Eclectica Magazine).
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