Constance Hale Quotes

Verbose is not a synonym for literary.

A sentence can offer a moment of quiet, it can crackle with energy or it can just lie there, listless and uninteresting. What makes the difference? The verb.

Writers dream of sentences that sail through the waters of thought. We try to control their shape and size, and we struggle to let them glide, rather than thrash at sea.

The flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the bones of grammar.

Ultimately, whether we are writing posts, paragraphs, essays, arguments, memoirs, monographs or even just the Great American Tweet, writing is and should be a grand adventure.

Our word choices give a sentence its luster, and they deserve intense attention.

Be bold. Be fast. Get to the point right away. The best email communication is simple and clear.

In writing, the connection between storyteller and audience is just as important. By using some subtle devices, a narrator can reach out to the reader and say, 'We’re in this together.'

There is no one way to render an idea. Let’s explore how masters of the sentence play with length and style to make their sentences distinctive.