When writers ask me how they can improve their writing skills I always ask them about their reading. They often look at me somewhat deflated – ‘Did she not hear what I was asking?’ I can see them wondering. But, truly, emulating the work of other writers is the best way to improve your own writing. When I read, I’m always looking for great sentences. And when I find them, I write them down. (I’ve learned to do this immediately, usually by entering them into my iPhone.) Each week, I share one with you, providing the sentence, the author and my description of why I figure the sentence worked so well.
Word count: 269 words Reading time: About 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence by Edmund Wilson I read recently that I’d happily imitate. I LOVE witticisms. Anything that’s clever gives me an abiding sense […]
Reading mysteries is a “vice” Read More »
Word count: 328 Reading time: About 1.5 minutes A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence by Katrina Onstad I read recently that I’d happily imitate. I spent my early working life toiling in the field of journalism
The city…low brick and resigned… 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. Here is a sentence I read recently that I’d happily imitate. New writers, particularly bloggers, so often state nothing more than the obvious. Holidays
An invitation to move away from the noise… Read More »
Word count: 165 words Reading time: About 30 seconds A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is my sentence of the week. I uncovered it while reading. I like lists. And wit. That’s why the following paragraph (yes, I’m cheating by
The players’ names a novelist’s dream… Read More »
Word count: 194 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Each week I identify a sentence from my reading that has interested me. Emulating other writers is a particularly effective way of improving our own writing. When I read the book The Wife: A Novel, by Meg Wolitzer, I was
Terrified of death’s dress rehearsal… Read More »
Word count: 211 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence I read recently that I’d happily imitate. When I was a Girl Guide, back in the dark ages, one of
The very word gloaming reverberates… Read More »
Word count: 224 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence about boxer Claressa Shields that I’d happily imitate. I have almost no interest in sport unless you include hiking and
If Claressa Shields were a man… Read More »
Word count: 236 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Each week I identify a sentence from my reading that I’ve found particularly effective. By emulating such writers at Tessa Hadley we can learn a great deal. I’ve written many times about why writers should avoid adjectives and adverbs and
A building that’s mournfully aloof…. Read More »
Word count: 237 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence I read recently that I’d happily imitate. I’ve never been a huge fan of Ernest Hemingway. Perhaps that’s why it
The lack of him had moved in with me Read More »
Word count: 204 Reading time: Less than a minute Every Friday I present a sentence of the week I’ve discovered in my reading. Reading closely will help you become a better writer. I must fall into the 1% of the population that has never seen the James Cameron movie, The
How to craft a Titanic sentence Read More »
