Description
Book SynopsisA STYLE GUIDE BY STEALTH - HOW ANYONE CAN WRITE WELL (AND FULLY ENJOY GOOD WRITING)
''Joe Moran is a wonderfully sharp writer, calm, precise and quietly comical'' Craig Brown
Advanced maths has no practical use, and is understood by few. A symphony can be enjoyed, but created only by a genius. Good writing, however, can be written (and read) by anyone if we give it the gift of our time.
Enter universally praised historian Professor Joe Moran. From the Bible and Shakespeare to Orwell and Diana Athill, First You Write a Sentence.show us how the most ordinary words can be turned into verbal constellations, sharing:
- The tools of the trade; from typewriters to texting and the impact this has on the craft
- Writing and the senses; how to make the world visible and touchable
- How to find the ideal word, build a sentence, and construct a paragraph
Good writing can ignite the hearts and minds of readers, help us notice t
Trade Review
Joe Moran has a genius for turning the prosaic poetic -- Peter Hennessy
Thoughtful reflections on how to write well -- John Mullan * Guardian Review *
Joe Moran is the most perceptive and original observer of British life that we have -- Matthew Engel
Moran has fast become Britain's foremost explorer and explainer of the disregarded -- Juliet Gardiner, author of 'Wartime: Britain 1939-1945'
Moran is a wonderful, witty writer, and here he surpasses himself -- Marcus Berkmann (on Shrinking Violets) * Daily Mail *
Compelling . . . There's plenty in Moran's book to delight grammar and language nerds -- Daniel Hahn * The Spectator *
Humane and witty . . . as a primer in generous and lively writing, First You Write a Sentence is blithe and convincing * New York Times *
Exquisite...Moran's own sentences are so deliciously epigrammatic that I considered giving up chocolate in favour of re-reading his book...He is more mentor than instructor -- Irina Dumitrescu * TLS *
