The Lines I Didn't Publish No.3
I ran my latest essay through Anne Lamont and Neal Allen's "36 Rules for Better Sentences" framework. Did it make my writing better?
Anne Lamont, whom many of us admire for Bird by Bird, teamed up with her husband, Neal Allen, a writer and life coach (beige flag), to author Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences.
Allen, a decades-long published author, compiled 36 rules he uses when editing. He turned them into a book and asked Anne Lamott to help…edit. Instead of just editing, she came in to save the project from becoming a snore by adding her take on each rule (with all her senior dreadlocked quirkiness).
Full disclosure: I have not read the book.
What I have done is listen to Lamott and Allen talk through the rules on Rick Rubin’s podcast, Tetragrammaton. Twice. And the episode is a breezy two hours and twenty-two minutes long, so one could argue I’m as committed as reality TV showmance.
The first time I listened, I was in a creepy castle-turned-hotel in Bairrada, a region of Portugal known for sparkling wine and suckling pig (I didn’t get any because pig skin is too thick and reminds me of a mummy!).
Now, a double bed for two is a challenge at the best of times, but when the mattress feels original to the monarchy, let’s just say nobody caught a wink.
On my re-listen, I had the luxury of modern Tempur-Pedics and found the rules even more useful.
I also noticed how many of the rules I break, including a few I’d never really considered. For example: always stick with “said” in dialogue instead of trying to be cute with a “muttered” or “whispered.” Their argument is that anything but “said” cheapens the writing.
“I can see that,” I contemplated with my eye half-cocked and my fly undone.
Around the second listen, I had just published my essay Why Do I Feel Better There? Naturally, I started mentally running it through the 36.
There are things Patron Saint Anne of Bird by Bird would not approve of.
These rules feel less like technical grammar and more like fine wine refinement.
Here are the 36 ways to improve your sentences, according to Anne Lamott and Neal Allen:
