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"Do you want to write clearer, livelier prose? This witty primer will help." - The New York Times Book Review An exploration of how the most ordinary words can be turned into verbal constellations of extraordinary grace through the art of building sentences The sentence is the common ground where every writer walks. A good sentence can be written (and read) by anyone if we simply give it the gift of our time, and it is as close as most of us will get to making something truly beautiful. Using minimal technical terms and sources ranging from the Bible and Shakespeare to George Orwell and Maggie Nelson, as well as scientific studies of what can best fire the readers mind, author Joe Moran shows how we can all write in a way that is clear, compelling and alive. Whether dealing with finding the ideal word, building a sentence, or constructing a paragraph, First You Write a Sentence informs by light example: much richer than a style guide, it can be read not only for instruction but for pleasure and delight. And along the way, it shows how good writing can help us notice the world, make ourselves known to others, and live more meaningful lives. Its an elegant gem in praise of the English sentence. Read more Continue reading Read less REVIEW "Do you want to write clearer, livelier prose? This witty primer will help. . . . Humane and witty . . . At the calm heart of Morans rhetorically affable book is an idea of adroit aplomb. . . . As a primer in generous and lively writing, First You Write a Sentence is blithe and convincing." - The New York Times Book Review "Thoughtful reflections on how to write well . . . Moran is a thoroughly sane, thoughtful commentator." - The Guardian (Book of the Week) "Joe Moran is a wonderfully sharp writer, calm, precise, and quietly comical. . . . Morans own sentences are perfect advertisements for the aims they espouse. . . . He writes with a playful clarity that makes First You Write a Sentence a joy to read." - The Mail on Sunday (London) "Splendid . . . Moran writes fluidly and elegantly, offering practical advice on giving ones writing texture and verve." - Kirkus Reviews "[An] elegant and winding book-length love letter . . . [First You Write a Sentence] is expansive, diving into myriad topics related to sentence composition and efficacy, and Morans infatuation endures through it all. Writers and linguists have much to gain from Morans manic and probing research, but its Morans enthusiasm for the vitality of language that will engage any and all readers." - BOOKLIST "Heartfelt . . . [Moran] provides many pieces of useful advice [and] makes persuasive arguments for the virtues of succinct, plain writing and for a more ornate style without definitively favoring either - the key is to be adept at whichever is chosen. . . . Anyone who has waxed poetic about good writing will enjoy parts of Morans book." - Publishers Weekly "It takes chutzpah to write a book about writing sentences. Between every full stop lies the potential to fail by your own standards, as countless style guide writers have done before. But Joe Moran has a perfect ear for English. First You Write a Sentenceis an edifying joy." - Lynne Murphy, author of The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English "Thoughtful, engaging, and lively exposé of the quirks and beauties of the full sentence . . . Its a style guide by stealth: when youve read it, you realize youve changed your attitude to writing (and reading) ." - John Simpson, former chief editor of theOxford English Dictionaryand author ofThe Word Detective "What a lovely thing this is: a book that delights in the sheer textural joy of good sentences. Joe Moran has written a book about writing that is itself a collection of sentences to inspire, divert, and console. Any writer should read it, if only to be reminded how crazily hard it is to write words in such a way that they can be deciphered in your absence." - Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork and First Bite ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joe Moran is a professor of English and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University. EXCERPT. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 1. A Pedants Apology Or why I wrote this book First I write a sentence. I get a tickle of an idea for how the words might come together, like an angler feeling a tug on the rods line. Then I sound out the sentence in my head. Then I tap it on my keyboard, trying to recall its shape. Then I look at it and say it aloud, to see if it sings. Then I tweak, rejig, shave off a syllable, swap a word for a phrase or a phrase for a word. Then I sit it next to other sentences to see how it behaves in company. And then I delete it all and start again. If there were a pie chart that divided up my time on earth, the colored slice that covers writing sentences would be the biggest, apart from the one that covers the thing everyone does: sleeping. I dont count how much writing I have done each day, but if I did I wouldnt count words, Id count sentences. Sentences are my core output, the little widgets I make in my workshop of words. It helps to think of it like this, as just cranking out a daily quota of sentences, instead of being a writer, which feels like a claim that will need to be stamped and approved. I write maybe three and a half thousand sentences a year. Is this too many, or not enough, or about right? I have no idea. I write one sentence, then another, and repeat until done. I dont know when done is. Some writers claim to have sentences in their heads hollering to get out. Flaubert wrote that he was "itching" with them. These writers just seem to have a knack for putting words into right-seeming order, as if it were a skill as randomly allotted as being able to wiggle ones ears. Not me. But I can spot a good tune when I hear it. I know what a good