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 […]
A step-by-step guide to better sentence length Read More »
Reading time: Less than 5 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
Seven sentences you should stop writing Read More »
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
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
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
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,”
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
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
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
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
A deep respect for the money it loathes… Read More »
