Geraldine Brooks laid that line down in “Secret Chord,” her deeply researched and richly reimagined novel about the life of biblical King David, the psalm-writing, harp-playing, woman-lusting warrior. But they could speak just as well to the best … Read more
Sometimes a sentence stops me for reasons I can’t entirely explain, or even defend. Often it includes a moment of description or metaphor that teases out a personal memory, or plants the seeds of feelings. Almost always they capture the … Read more
Why it’s so great: This isn’t a particularly elegant sentence. It may even come across as disingenuous – a popular, successful Hollywood actor who, at 65, still claims to be a “humble student” of his craft. But “A Word With” … Read more
Why is this great? Writers wade into the world to witness it in all its dimensions, then remake it in the hieroglyphics we know as words – marks we use not just to describe, but to create meaning. Words can … Read more
Why it’s great: Deadline reporting of natural disasters is a tightrope walk. Too little drama and events are reduced to factoids that don’t take hold in the readers’ mind or heart. Too much and a story risks becoming overwrought. As … Read more
Why is it great? My mentor Ron Speer of the Virginian-Pilot liked the opening line of the Bible for Greatest Short Lede Ever. I go with Buchanan. I’m hooked with four words. I can’t stop reading. Not possible. I … Read more
Why it’s so great: Tyler is a novelist, not a journalist. But the work of writing is the work of writing. In this New York Times profile by Charles McGrath – based on a rare bit of time with reclusive … Read more
WHY IS THIS SO GREAT? Or … is it? This might cause eyerolls as a “great sentence” pick. It’s not what most would call high literature, and likely will be breezed by in a fast read. Some might even call … Read more
