Shameless self-promotion alert: this page is named after my new book, which WW Norton published in August 2020:
What’s it about? Not exactly 25 sentences, more like 25 writing techniques. I start every chapter with a great sentence, but because I’ve never been the sort of person who eats one potato chip and leaves the rest in the bag, I throw in a lot of other sentences that employ the same technique. Take the chapter on repetition: I discuss sentences written by Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan, Dylan Thomas, Ani DiFranco, Frederick Douglass, and Monty Python. There’s real information about writing and close reading, but also snark. It’s not the blog, but it’s still me.
Reviews
Kirkus: “A practical, nonboring companion for writers aiming to hone their style.” https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/geraldine-woods/25-great-sentences-and-how-they-got-way/
Publishers Weekly: “Woods’s selections mix classroom staples (Romeo and Juliet) and contemporary classics (Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me), and she also displays a winning enthusiasm for language, as when she illustrates the coinage of new words with Phil Rizzuto’s invention of the verb nonchalanting, or provides a sidebar on the tangled etymology of the word beatnik. This volume should be helpful for students, and older readers will recall memories of favorite English teachers leading them through the intricacies of writing.” https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-324-00485-1
Poets and Writers Magazine: “. . . a delightfully readable examination of the foundation of literary architecture for writers and language enthusiasts alike.” https://www.pw.org/best-books/25_great_sentences_and_how_they_got_that_way
Midwestern Book Review “An inherently fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the English language and storytelling, “25 Great Sentences and How They Got That Way” is very highly recommended, especially for community, college, and university library Grammar, Rhetoric, and Linguistics Reference collections.” http://www.midwestbookreview.com/jimcox/aug_20.htm
Ragan Consulting Group: “an enjoyable guide for anyone who wants to write better.” Learn how to write better ― by reading | Ragan Consulting
Halley Feiffer, actor and playwright: “Her inspired dissection of beloved sentences makes you fall deeper in love with writers you’ve long cherished; you come to understand why exactly you cherished them in the first place, while becoming a better writer and more attuned reader yourself.”
Mary Norris, “comma queen” and author of Between You & Me: “Using hundreds of examples from writers as diverse as Bruce Springsteen and Virginia Woolf, she articulates the precise ways in which a writer can send a sentence spinning. This book will give anyone who opens it a new appreciation for the glories of syntax, which can only increase one’s capacity for creating them.”
Lara Setrakian, CEO and Executive Editor of News Deeply: “Geraldine Woods is the awesome teacher you had in high school and wanted to keep for life. It’s no surprise that she crafted an engaging, instructive manual for self-proclaimed ‘word nerds’ and those who aspire to write like them. If you want to enhance your confidence and craft as a writer, this is your book.”
Alex Myers, author of Revolutionary, Continental Divide, and The Story of Silence: “Woods had me revisiting texts that I’ve taught before as well as thinking about my own writing process. This is a book I will be using in class, for sure!”
David Mandel, Emmy-Winning Executive Producer Veep: “On Veep, we would obsess over every sentence in the script. Word by word, we fine-tuned every straight line and joke right up to the moment we shot the show. It’s comforting to know now that someone else is paying attention to sentences the same way we did. From James Joyce to Judy Blume, from Yoda to Toni Morrison, Geraldine Woods breaks down 25 of the greatest sentences in the history of the written word and obsesses over them in a way that writers and nonwriters can appreciate.”
Brenda Miller, author of An Earlier Life; co-author of Tell it Slant: Creating, Refining, and Publishing Creative Nonfiction: “Finally, someone who appreciates the engine of a fine sentence and isn’t afraid to tinker with all the parts! …. Her guidance will be so useful for anyone who enjoys writing and wants to take it all to the next level.”
John Allman, prize-winning poet, author of Loew’s Triboro and Clio’s Children: “Have you ever needed a book without knowing it, until it’s in your hands? 25 Great Sentences is that book. You’ll savor it. You’ll pick it up again and again.”
EVENTS
Newsday Webinar: A conversation with Mark Chiusano https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/geraldine-woods-author-webinar-1.48567615
KALW Public Radio: “a help for any student, or anyone writing essays, reports or journals.” The full review starts seven minutes into the broadcast: https://www.kalw.org/post/corona-radio-theater-word-word-appropriation-cultures-sf-ballet-peter-robinson#stream/0
Books in Common NW A conversation with Margot Kahn of Hugo House and James Crossley of Madison Books https://www.booksincommonnw.com/upcoming-events/books-in-common-geraldine-woods
Author2Author A conversation with Bill Kenower: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/author-magazine/2020/08/18/author2author-with-geraldine-woods
Teaching Learning Leading K12 A conversation with Steven Miletto:
Available At
Indie Bookstores https://bookshop.org/
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com
WW Norton https://wwnorton.com/
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/
and many other places!