Description

A 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 the world better and live more meaningful lives. And it’s a power we all can wield.

‘What a lovely thing this is: a book that delights in the sheer textural joy of good sentences . . . Any writer should read it’ Bee Wilson

‘Thoughtful, engaging, and lively . . . when you’ve read it, you realise you’ve changed your attitude to writing (and reading)’ John Simpson, formerly Chief Editor of the OED and author of The Word Detective

‘Moran is a past master at producing fine, accessible non-fiction’ Helen Davies, Sunday Times

Publisher Review

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 * Humane and witty . . . as a primer in generous and lively writing, First You Write a Sentence is blithe and convincing * New York Times * Compelling . . . There's plenty in Moran's book to delight grammar and language nerds -- Daniel Hahn * The Spectator * Moran is a past master at producing fine, accessible non-fiction. His trick is to take what might be considered a perfectly ordinary behaviour ... and uncover fact after fascinating fact -- Helen Davies * Sunday Times * Moran's genius is to show us what was right in front of us all along -- Bee Wilson Joe Moran is a wonderfully gifted social historian...he has the poet's ability to find the remarkable in the commonplace -- Craig Brown Whether you're composing an ad for a shop or embarking on your first literary masterpiece, it is indispensable. As an inspiration to savour every encounter, to train your lazy brain to be alert to a beautifully devised phrase, a poetic alleviation, a mood-changing bon mot, it is even more rewarding -- Jane Annie * Big Issue * Moran is a wonderful, witty writer, and here he surpasses himself -- Marcus Berkmann (on Shrinking Violets) * Daily Mail * Moran is a past master at producing fine, accessible non-fiction. -- Helen Davies * Sunday Times * Moran has fast become Britain's foremost explorer and explainer of the disregarded -- Juliet Gardiner, author of 'Wartime: Britain 1939-1945' Joe Moran is the most perceptive and original observer of British life that we have -- Matthew Engel Joe Moran is a wonderfully sharp writer, calm, precise and quietly comical . . . Moran's own sentences are perfect advertisements for the aims they espouse -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday * Thoughtful, engaging, and lively expose of the quirks and beauties of the full sentence . . . It's a style guide by stealth: when you've read it, you realise you've changed your attitude to writing (and reading). -- John Simpson, formerly Chief Editor of the OED and author of The Word Detective What a lovely thing this is: a book that delights in the sheer textural joy of good sentences. Joe Moran has written a book about writing that is itself a collection of sentences to inspire, divert and console. Any aspiring writer should read it, if only to be reminded how crazily hard it is to write words 'in such a way that they can be deciphered in your absence' -- Bee Wilson Thoughtful reflections on how to write well -- John Mullan * Guardian Review * Joe Moran has a genius for turning the prosaic poetic -- Peter Hennessy