Word count: 150 words
Reading time: about 30 seconds
A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence, about Arnold Schwarzenegger, I read recently that I’d happily imitate.
A story, headlined “California and Bust” was written by Michael Lewis and ran in the November 2011 issue of Vanity Fair. It was a profile of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Here is my favourite sentence from the piece:
His bike has at least 10 speeds, but he has just 2: zero and pedaling as fast as he can.
This 20-word sentence packs a mean punch. The writer and the Terminator went for a bike ride through LA, and I like the way this sentence relates bikes to the former Governor’s style. Also, the “pedaling as fast as he can” line is a sophisticated reference to the marital problems between Schwarz and Maria Shriver.
I also like the juxtaposition of all the numbers. Oh, and I find it amusing that zero is described as a “speed.”
