Editing Invitations: Playing with “True” Sentences
By Jeff Anderson (adapted excerpt from Everyday Editing)
Hemingway said, “All you have to do is write one true sentence (A Moveable Feast, 1964). Are the sentences used in your daily practice true? Are they the truest sentences (s) you know?
To find sentences worthy of zooming in on, simply look at the books you love. They are packed with examples. You don’t need particular books; you only need to develop your eye for finding such sentences in any book – or any text, for that matter.
Sample “True” Mentor Sentences
On the day I was born, my grandmother wrapped me in a blanket made from the wool of her sheep. - Patricia MacLachlan, All the Places to Love
Trains bring people home, hungry and tired from work.
- Ralph Fletcher, Twilight Comes Twice
Dad didn’t bother to disguise the irritation creeping into his voice.
- Mary Downing Hahn, Look for Me by Moonlight
They were not like any birds I had ever seen, for sharp, white teeth filled their mouths.
- Jane Yolen, Encounter
Richard gave me one of his extra-rotten, weasel-eyed, greeny-toothed grins. - Patricia Polacco, My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother
I forked the meat and corn and potatoes into my mouth.
- Julie Brinckloe, Fireflies
Adapted from Editing Invitations: DVD, Jeff Anderson, Stenhouse Publishers