Back from the brink of stomach flu hell, we surface by merely sticking our toe into the water. Amidst queasy gurgles of bloating gas with now only intermittent runs to the toilet, I possibly feel good enough to actually concentrate. I open the book and start my read only to realize I was but two pages from the beginning of its next chapter when I last stopped. I’ll take this as a suggestion from above as a testing of the waters and only report back on my two page read as to keep each chapter separated.
Today’s read: pages 135-137, section 5 of Toolbox.
Words create sentences and sentences create paragraphs. Like a carpenter building a mansion, the writer builds one paragraph at a time. Stephen encourages me to construct out of my own volcabulary, my own knowledge of grammar and of my own basic style. I must stay level on level and shave even every door and I can build whatever I like – whole mansions if I wish.
Let us not forget we are discussing a learned skill but sometimes we can agree that the most basic skills can create things far beyond our expectations. Stephen says I’d do well to remember that we are also taking about magic.
“Words create sentences and sentences create paragraphs. Like a carpenter building a mansion, the writer builds one paragraph at a time.” like me knitting a sweater; stitches create a row, rows create fabric, fabric creates a sweater.
Jay and I were discussing bad student writing Monday evening, students who lack the ability to create a decent paragraph. A paragraph is much more than a collection of random sentences.