The Draft
How to Write a Sentence
Be specific. Be human. Make every word count.
Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth in words.
Have a question? Share it with us.
Dear Draft,
I have a problem overwriting predominantly. That not only do I add unnecessary words, but my details are nearly always unwanted, misplaced, or confusing. Unfortunately I wasn’t taught English properly (ever). So where can I learn how to write in a manner that actually communicates my intended messages?
Signed,
Absent the Day They Taught Good Writing
Dear Absent,
No, you weren’t absent. Unless you attended parochial school, your teachers probably never taught anyone the rules of grammar. Be grateful: you would have died of boredom. And if your teacher had marked up your essays with a red pen, chiding you for every error, you would have simmered with resentment and stopped writing unless required.
Many teachers do make an effort to teach “good writing,” but their lessons are geared toward helping students produce a coherent essay that will earn them a decent score on their SATs.
How do most of us learn to write? By reading. Not what we are required to read, but stories, novels, and essays that send our hearts racing with excitement, make us feel less lonely and misunderstood, help us solve the mysteries of sex and love, and bring alive a time and place far different from those we live in. We pick up most of what we know about good writing by osmosis. But only if we read good writing. And only if we read a lot.
At times, we might find ourselves puzzled as to where a comma should go or whether we need to use “lie” or “lay.” But most such questions can be solved by common sense. Take this sentence: The thief jumped on my bicycle and pedaled off. Should a comma go after “bicycle”? No, because the thief in the first part of the sentence is not only jumping on the bike, he also is pedaling off. If you put a comma after “bicycle,” the thief won’t be able to perform that…
