#2: “Challenge every single sentence; challenge it for lucidity, accuracy, originality and cadence. If it doesn’t meet the challenge, work on it until it does.” -Tom Robbins
3 thoughts on “10 Days of Advice for Writers–Day #2:”
I think of writing in the same way I think of watercoloring. Every piece of the painting needs to be scrutinized for detail, light, texture, contrast, and enough drying time. Love Robbins’ list for our words.
This is a great quote, but we also have to challenge sentences in context to each other. The most brilliant, poignant sentence in the world may not be justified if it is repetetive or fails to contribute to the reader’s understanding or the novel’s tension and overall momentum.
this literary life 
I think of writing in the same way I think of watercoloring. Every piece of the painting needs to be scrutinized for detail, light, texture, contrast, and enough drying time. Love Robbins’ list for our words.
This is a great quote, but we also have to challenge sentences in context to each other. The most brilliant, poignant sentence in the world may not be justified if it is repetetive or fails to contribute to the reader’s understanding or the novel’s tension and overall momentum.
Leslie, that’s a lovely analogy!
Martina
I often think of sentences as math problems. You have to keep adding and subtracting until you come up with the correct answer.
Maribeth:)