Writelike Shakespeare: Macbeth's 'Tomorrow' soliloquy

This snippet introduces the issue—the concern, the source of disappointment—but describes it purely in terms of lived experience.

What is it like to live with this thing?

This snippet has a simple structure: 

• Noun repeated three times
• One verb!
• Qualify the verb with four chained prepositional phrases

If we say 'in' is an adverb, that means 'this petty pace' is no longer part of a prepositional phrase—it becomes a noun group on the same level as tomorrow, which gives the whole passage a slightly different flavour and emphasis.

You can choose whichever way suits your own version.

Something else to notice: the last word on every line is a noun. The first words are more varied—noun, verb, preposition—but every last word is a thing:

Write your own draft. Don't worry too much about getting every detail right—you're going to have a chance to revise this later.

For now, focus on capturing your theme within the basic sentence patterns of this snippet.

• Refer back to your brainstorming notes for ideas—here's where that Word doc is handy.
• Definitely end each line with a noun!
• And note the semicolon at the end of the last line—it's not a full stop or comma!