Write The Book

Award winning British Author Rupert Thomson, whose latest novel is Barcelona Dreaming (Other Press).  This week’s Write the Book Prompt was inspired by my conversation with Rupert Thomson, who mentions Christine Schutt as an author who values "sentence magicians," those writers who particularly focus on sentence-level writing and revision to the benefit of their prose. Rupert refers to the way one excellent sentence can flow into the next, and how the best of these transitions will create tension. He mentions Mary Gaitskill, Joy Williams, Denis Johnson, William Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor as some of his own favorite "sentence magicians." This week, study your sentences. Are they doing all they can for your work? Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion.  Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro 680