First You Write a Sentence

May 27, 2019
Less style guide than extended meditation on the sentence as written communication’s basic building block, this is a heartfelt but sometimes overwrought affair. Moran, an English and Cultural History professor at Liverpool John Moores University, emphasizes that form is just as important as content. He provides many pieces of useful advice: the passive voice can be used effectively if done carefully; avoid using adjectives unnecessarily (as “hollow intensifiers”) and instead use them to “make a noun more specific”; and don’t discount writing as easy—it is work. He makes persuasive arguments for the virtues of succinct, plain writing and for a more ornate style without definitively favoring either—the key is to be adept at whichever is chosen. His own florid style, however, often gets in the way, and he falters when not directly addressing style points. An appendix of “20 Sentences on Sentences” seems more like a fortune cookie compendium than sound advice on composition. (“Train your ears, for how a sentence sounds in the head is also what it says to the heart.”) Anyone who has waxed poetic about good writing will enjoy parts of Moran’s book, but tolerance for the complete package will depend on the individual reader.

June 1, 2019
A dense yet splendid "style guide by stealth" that reads like a two-semester course in English composition distilled into a two-week treatise. The question is how, apart from multiple readings, one might absorb all the wisdom in a single gulp. Moran (English and Cultural History/Liverpool John Moores Univ.; Shrinking Violets: The Secret Life of Shyness, 2017, etc.) believes that by "mastering" one of the fundamental building blocks of language--the sentence--we learn not merely about writing, but about everything. It's a sweeping claim, but Moran backs it up, giving us mostly trenchant sentences on the art of creating them. A sultan of syntax, he wants to show rather than teach, and he generally succeeds. He likens good prose to good poetry, both taking wing on the rhythm, meter, and music of language. Writing is an artisanal craft, or should be, employing meticulous care and execution. Moran extols the virtues of the plain style--like cooking, "a sentence should rely more on quality ingredients than baroque artifice"--but cautions against fetishizing the unadorned, introducing ways to make more elaborate sentences work. Whatever the style, good sentences give order to our thoughts and clarity to the reader, but they must also sing on the page and in the reader's mind. Moran links themes with illustrative asides, as in his short history of writing, but mainly, he critiques the common novice mistakes and veteran's misjudgments, demonstrating skillful alternatives. At times, the author will make even experienced writers feel inept, especially in his discussions of arcane grammatical terms. Still, his tone is comradely, not chiding. Oddly, one point Moran does not address is the element of talent. Everyone's writing can be improved, but all the technique in the world won't make a mediocre talent an exceptional one. Moran writes fluidly and elegantly, offering practical advice on giving one's writing texture and verve.

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July 1, 2019
In this elegant and winding book-length love letter, English lecturer Moran professes his undying adoration for the structural atom of literature: the sentence. To Moran, every sentence is a gift from writer to reader, uniquely wrapped in length, rhythm, and style. Sentences do not work alone, they greet us as a team, all working together to support a larger mission. Moran uses examples from all walks of the written word in order to convey the importance of strong sentences, from the Bible to Maggie Nelson to Frank Sinatra. He explores the role of the sentence in music, history, and art; and outlines how sentence construction has physically evolved throughout time, from symbols in stone, to calligraphy, to typewriters, to modern touch-screen technology. The book is expansive, diving into myriad topics related to sentence composition and efficacy, and Moran's infatuation endures through it all. Writers and linguists have much to gain from Moran's manic and probing research, but it's Moran's enthusiasm for the vitality of language that will engage any and all readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)