Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott – Artsphoria Publishing, Media Group & Shop

Book review by Andrea K. Hammer

To keep readers’ attention and show respect for their interest in novelty, Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott offers “rules” for economizing and selecting plainspoken, specific words.

The authors of Better Days and Bird by Bird, respectively, ward of bristling at restrictive guidelines or the prospect of grammatical dissection by providing useful, flexible tips. Along with an insistence that they are not “scolds,” the authors master a clever volleying format, which takes humorous turns with Anne’s playful jabs at her husband’s “overeducation” and discussion of Aristotle and Socrates in plentiful word-usage examples. As the self-described “water boy” delivering her “take” and experience, the latter’s more conversational, spirited style balances the former’s Eastern studies background and factual newspaper-experience approach.

Filled with helpful and memorable pointers, Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott gains strength and credibility from the authors’ willingness to share personal experiences tangoing with the writing craft. Honest descriptions about the pain inflicted from a bad review criticizing “show-offy” writing is translated into an instructive lesson, which becomes embedded in the mind. The unequivocal rule to “Finish the Damn Thing” continues to reverberate, along with the astute and illuminating exploration of reasons for the underlying avoidance. Helpful details about a three-draft approach offer freedom from becoming tangled in the drive for perfect quality during early writing stages.

As a guide for professional writers as well as those in all fields, Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott reflects an abiding passion for precise words, convincing persuasion and engaging storytelling.