Responding to my invitation to submit a favorite passage, and to say why they loved the writing, several readers sent examples of engaging rhythm and flow.
All of us can achieve those effects if we — here I go again — read our drafts aloud.
Monica Kovalchuk of Nisswa, Minn., loves the tempo and alliteration of this selection, from Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita":
Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
Tom Fuller, a retired Elk River, Minn., teacher, loves the opening of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities":
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
Fuller's take: "The parallel construction flows smoothly, and the opposing concepts intrigued me from the start. I read that sentence over and over."
Finally, a cautionary note from Michael Gottsacker of St. Paul, a retired manager of marketing communications, quoting the New York Times columnist Russell Baker:
You know about ending a sentence with a period or a question mark. Do it. Sure, you can also end with an exclamation point, but must you? Usually, it just makes you sound breathless and silly. Make your writing generate its own excitement. Filling the paper with !!!! won't make up for what your writing has failed to do.
Gottsacker says: "I like this one because it's about a trap I can fall into. I'm not alone. The other day, in a Facebook post, every sentence ended with an exclamation point. As Baker suggests, if you need an exclamation point to tell the reader something is exciting, you should consider a rewrite."
Dear readers: Please send me more of your favorite passages.
Gary Gilson conducts writing workshops online. He can be reached through www.writebetterwithgary.com.
