Good Writing
26 Ways to Improve Your Sentences
By Neal Allen and Anne Lamott
If you’re a part of the writing community, just starting out or successfully published, you’ll know who Anne Lamott is. Think Bird By Bird. She, along with her current husband, Neal Allen, who has had a successful journalism and corporate career, have just released what is quickly becoming the new reference guide — a pseudo bible — for writing enthusiasts.
Irreverent, fast-paced, and often humourous, #Good Writing made the New York Times, @nytimes, bestseller list in its debut week. Which is no surprise as it’s evident from the get-go that Allen and Lamott’s sense of fun, engaging repartee, and mission for writing the book is to help writers become better writers, and also celebrate and truly get the same kick out of writing as they do.
The 36 rules to improve and enliven pedestrian sentences were developed by Allen over the course of his writing career and are quick and easy to adopt. Each rule is accompanied with examples by Allen, and a lively back and forth discussion between he and Lamott, vi a vis Anne’s take.
Indeed, the day I started reading #Good Writing, I became an avid disciple of Rule #1, Use Strong Verbs. While fundamental, strong verbs immediately change the pace of a sentence and become an easy tool to pique readers’ interest.
Rule #8, Trust Your Voice, is one that often confounds writers and is key to a writer’s success.
Find the Hidden Metaphor, Rule 18, is posited as a tactic that “mirrors humdrum experiences through elegant comparison,” with the intention of illuminating and offering depth of field.
Lamott, who is well-known for her humour, political activism, and unapologetic writing on grace, spirituality and keeping the faith, has a wry self-deprecating voice that is so captivating she makes you feel like you’re two friends sitting beside each other as you discuss the joys of writing.
Good Writing, 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences, is both a master class in improving your writing skills, and also a delightfully fun and witty read.
After one back and forth repartee regarding Rule #17, Stay In Tune, Lamott says, “No one expects this marriage to last.”
But you know darn well it will.
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Cece is the feature cover writer for several prestigious publications both in print and online, and an informed, connected and enthusiastic book blogger at cecescott.com. Her first book, “The Love Story,” was published in 2019.
All three of her books, which includes “Nunzio Tumino: A Pocketful of Dreams: An Immigrant’s Journey,” and “Helping People One Hand At A Time” are available at Amazon.ca : cece m scott
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“My Body Parts Are On Recall But There’s Still Lots of Gas in my Tank: Reflections of Humour, Hope, and Hutzpah for Autoimmune Warriors.”
Available for purchase, Fall of 2026. Email her at cecescott.com for further information
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@NealFAllen @AnneLamott #GoodWriting