Q&A

Sentences and Style and Writing

Photo by Amador Loureiro on Unsplash

I often receive wonderful questions from paid subscribers about writing, sentences, style, and craft. I thought I’d start sharing my responses here so everyone can think along with us. I’d love for you to join the conversation in the comments. And please send me questions about sentences, style, and writing. If you find a sentence that you love but don’t know how it’s working, send it, and I’ll see what I can see. Or what meaning a style technique renders. Or the best way to write an emotion.

Hello there,

I’ve been enjoying your posts this year and have dropped in on a few Zoom classes. I’m learning a lot. Still, as I write, I wrestle with this question: Is writing best approached as a painstaking, word-by-word craft shaped by a deep understanding of language’s history and mechanics? Or is it better treated as a liberated, intuitive act—unrestricted, instinctive, and true, so long as it remains legible? Am I an inspired architect working at a furious pace, or a master bricklayer, laying each word with rules and precedent in mind? A bit of both? One, then the other? I’d love to hear your thoughts.