Reading time: About 4 minutes Do you want to improve your sentence structure? Here are seven types of sentences that you should eschew…. I like reading text that sounds as if the writer is speaking to me. I also like watching ice skating that looks as though it is effortless. And I enjoy hearing music […]
7 sentences you should stop writing to improve your sentence structure Read More »
Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Is your writing filled with long, winding sentences? Here’s a guide to achieving better sentence length…. When I talk about sentence length at workshops, people sometimes object to my advocacy for short sentences. “I don’t want my writing to sound like a grade school book,” they tell me. “My
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Reading time: About 1 minute A great way to improve your writing is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. I comment today on one written by Jeanette Walls. I am in the minority when it comes to writer Jeannette Walls’ famous memoir, The
Bringing those big crazy birds back home… Read More »
Word count: 320 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. I comment today on one written by Collum McCann. I tried reading the novel Let the Great World Spin
And then my soul in a sling… Read More »
Word count: 481 words Reading time: Less than 2 minutes This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Today I discuss an article written by journalist Roy Peter Clark. I’ve long admired the writing of Roy Peter Clark. A
The short sentence as gospel truth Read More »
Word count: 244 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. Today’s comes from Anthony Lane. Billed as an “unconventional coming of age story,” the movie The Kings of
Will have you praying for an early frost… Read More »
Word count: 319 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. Today’s comes from Sam Anderson, who writes about Anne Carson. I had never heard of Anne Carson until I
Neither “novel” nor “verse” quite seems to apply… Read More »
Word count: 373 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. Today’s comes from the novel Capital, by John Lanchester. I hadn’t heard of John Lanchester (pictured above) but my
Even his tallness appeared a form of ease… Read More »
Word count: 272 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute The best way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. For this reason I regularly write down sentences I’ve picked up in my own recent reading. Today’s comes from Julie Otsuka. This summer I read the novel The Buddha in
And for a moment we forgot to breathe…. Read More »
Word count: 251 words Reading time: About 1 minute The best way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. For this reason I regularly write down sentences I’ve picked up in my own recent reading. I like cleverness and wit in writing. Perhaps this is the reason I so much
A deep respect for the money it loathes… Read More »
