Constance Hale

Offers advice on up-to-date writing styles, showing how to break through conventional modes to achieve a striking and hip style.

How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose

Sin and Syntax

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For a grammar book, this was actually entertaining! I know, hard to believe but true. A good portion of the book discusses various parts of speech and their correct grammatical use; however, there is also a lot of information on how to improve the clarity and quality of your prose. Trim down those sentences bloated with adverbs and adjectives and trade out those flabby verbs for stronger ones - your writing will be the better for it!

Nick Chmura

Joshua Line

A fully revised and updated edition with writing prompts and challenges in every chapter Today’s writers need more spunk than Strunk: whether it's the Great American e-mail, Madison Avenue advertising, or Grammy Award-winning rap lyrics, memorable writing must jump off the page. Copy veteran Constance Hale is on a mission to make creative communication, both the lyrical and the unlawful, an option for everyone. With its crisp, witty tone, Sin and Syntax covers grammar’s ground rules while revealing countless unconventional syntax secrets (such as how to use—Gasp!—interjections or when to pepper your prose with slang) that make for sinfully good writing. Discover how to: *Distinguish between words that are “pearls” and words that are “potatoes” * Avoid “couch potato thinking” and “commitment phobia” when choosing verbs * Use literary devices such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, and metaphor (and understand what you're doing) Everyone needs to know how to write stylish prose—students, professionals, and seasoned writers alike. Whether you’re writing to sell, shock, or just sing, Sin and Syntax—now celebrating 20 years in print—is the guide you need to improve your command of the English language.

Sin and Syntax How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose

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