How to Write
How to Write
How to Write
This page will be used to collect examples of interesting and quirky bits of writing, so that when a student is told by her English teacher to be more interesting, she might read some of these pieces to see what ‘interesting’ actually means.
Tim Dowling:
The Long Goodbye (Guardian 20/7/13)
(Look at the way he tells a family story largely through dialogue)
Will Self:
(New Statesman 31/10/13)
(Look at the bold vocabulary, the splenetic sense of voice, the sheer audacity of it)
Russell Brand:
We Deserve More from our Democratic System
(Guardian 5/11/13)
(Look at the self-consciously outrageous use of imagery, and the juxtaposition of polysyllabic with colloquial vocabulary)
John Steinbeck:
(Letters of Note, 10/11/13)
Sam Wolfson:
The Star Wars open audition was my chance at fame. And I didn't get one
Guardian (10/11/13)
Joshua Rothman:
An anniversary party for ‘Doctor Who’
(Beautiful prose for a kind of love-song to television’s enduring sci-fi drama; it’s complex, rich in references to other texts, eminently readable):
The New Yorker (24/11/13)
Patrick Strudwick:
‘No, Robbie Williams, you're not 49% gay. But you are 100% stupid’
I just love the feistiness of this - and it contains a point well-made about an artist who may think he is being enlightened, but who is actually reinforcing some deep-rooted and very unhelpful stereotypes.
Guardian (30/11/13)
Allison Pearson:
A combination of anecdote and sense of mission about why the writer will give up alcohol for a month. Note her apparently effortless turn of phrase - images that help us to visualise what she is saying.
Daily Telegraph (29/12/13)
Julia Raeside:
‘The Soothing Pleasure ... of Terry Wogan’
This is a TV review. It is by turns funny, barbed, and affectionate. She pushes some of her metaphors to the edge (that fish in the Atlantic one, for example), but it makes for an entertaining read.
Guardian (4/1/13)
Jay Rayner:
I’m a huge fan of Rayner’s prose style. Every sentence is interesting, and he writes in a way which is provocative, entertaining and often laugh-out-loud funny. That’s important because restaurant reviews are likely to appeal (a) to people who go to restaurants a lot and/or (b) people who have been to this specific restaurant. A great reviewer makes a specific topic have general appeal. That’s what Rayner does here.
Simon Hoggart:
Simon Hoggart was one of my favourite newspaper journalists. I was so sad to learn of his death from cancer aged 67. Here’s the Guardian’s selection of some of his gems.
Mary Slouka:
A profoundly beautiful piece of personal writing from The New Yorker.
Jay Rayner (again):
Hilarious review. The opening and final paragraphs are stunningly funny.
Sally Magnusson:
How I Lost my Mother to Dementia
A searing piece of personal writing.
Victoria Coren Mitchell:
Charging fees for state schools is an evil idea
Just funny, with an important message.
Richard Lloyd Parry:
A powerful and unnerving piece from the Literary Review
Rex Weiner:
I Used to Throw Pies for a Living
An entertaining & informative article from the Paris Review
Howard Jacobson:
Doctor, doctor, if I eat 20 portions of fruit and veg a day, will I ever die?
A terrific response to yet more health advice
Indy, 5/4/14
Simon Heffer:
a review of ‘Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life’
I just love the precision of how this is written. Parts of it are hilarious.
Literary Review, April 2014
Clive James:
A beautiful and evocative speech
Christina Patterson:
We may not go to church, but we still need the rituals of Christianity
A powerful, elegant article that combines persuasive with personal writing
Guardian, 25/4/
Fiona Shaw:
Simple and elegant personal writing
Guardian, 29/4/14
Anthony McGowan:
'Mrs Maguire, the teacher I loved’
A powerful tribute to murdered teacher Ann Maguire by former student and novelist Anthony McGowan. The images, the use of anecdotes, the rhythms of the phrases and sentences ... this article exemplifies (to me) how to write.
Telegraph, 30/4/14
Janet Street-Porter:
You’d get better care in a Travelodge
A powerful and angry piece on the way our society treats old people. Notice how she uses questions, how she uses personal experience, how she mixes fact with anecdote.
Independent, 3/5/14
Linda Grant:
An elegantly written account of culling a sprawling library - note the playful combination of short and long sentences.
Guardian, 17/5/14
Boris Johnson:
If we can’t do it on our own, let’s lose weight together
An entertaining piece with a serious message about dieting.
Telegraph, 1/6/14
Dom Joly:
So tag is just a kids’ game, right?
Entertaining personal writing
Independent, 1/6/14
Alan Bennett:
Wonderful autobiographical writing
London Review of Books, 19/6/14
David Sedaris:
Hilarious and evocative personal/descriptive writing by the new master of the genre
New Yorker, 30/6/14
Tim Key:
‘There’s a magic about my waitress’
Funny, oddly poignant personal writing
Independent, 29/6/14
Simon Jenkins:
Bank holidays: end these annual festivals of misery
Feisty miserablism
Guardian, 26/8/14
Allison Pearson:
‘My angel grew wings and flew the nest’
On seeing her daughter lead home: elegant, emotional personal writing
Telegraph, 30/8/14
AJ Daulerio:
A column published in the week following the attack on the Twin Towers on 11 September, 2011
Ambler Gazette, 19/9/11
Ian McEwan
A piece originally published just days after the attack on the Twin Towers. The mix of description and emotion is astonishing
Guardian, 15/9/01
Jay Rayner
‘Just because you can go foraging doesn’t mean you should’
Simply brilliant writing - funny, opinionated and chock-full of startling images
Observer, 14/9/11
Paul Routledge
Class war: it’s the posh schools that started it
Mirror, 2/10/14
Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy
Nothing is wrong with Renee Zellweger's face. There's something wrong with us
Angry, emotional writing
Guardian, 21/10/14
Tim Key
‘Why does this hotel want to make quenching my thirst so very difficult to achieve?’
Just funny
Independent Magazine, 25/10/14
Luke Alnutt
An extraordinary account by the writer of the death of his father. This is an emotionally-charged piece: be warned.
Guardian, 27/10/12
Charlie Brooker
‘Awesome dissection of internet hyperbole’
Vicious, funny, and a serious point made
Guardian, 6/10/14
David Mitchell
Why do we allow some bigots to be more equal than others?
Clever; funny.
Observer, 7/12/14
Mark Steel
Food banks: Don’t you people know how to make a banquet out of bugger all?
Great example of impassioned yet funny writing.
Independent, 13/12/14
David Sedaris
Brilliant personal writing which paints vivid pictures with perfectly chosen words and phrases
The New Yorker, 5/1/15
Eva Wiseman
The seismic changes of having a baby
Just great, vivid writing
Observer, 4/1/15
David Mitchell
It used to be rude not to answer the phone ...
Entertaining writing, leading to an interesting reflection on mobile phone etiquette
Observer, 18/1/15
Patricia Marx
Hilarious account of other people’s obsession with bringing pets into public places
New Yorker, 20 October 2014
Graeme Virtue
Entertaining analysis
Guardian, 31 January, 2015
Elizabeth Alexander
An extraordinary and beautiful article about the death of the writer’s husband
New Yorker, 9 February 2015
June Eric Udorie
An open letter to all the lost girls
Wonderful prose published to coincide with International Women’s Day 2015
Telegraph, 6 March 2015
Gaby Hinsliff
As humans, we’re losing the power of touch
Fascinating topic; evocative, sensuous prose
Guardian, 27 February 2015
Giles Fraser
Christianity, when properly understood, is a religion of losers
Religious belief doesn’t come in more vivid forceful language than this
Guardian, 4 April 2015
Andrew Rawnsley
Why party leaders are failing the smell test
The build-up to the 2015 general election dissected with memorable clarity
Observer
Jenni Murray
My mother wasn’t drunk - she had Parkinson’s
A topic of such emotion written about with such clarity and precision
Observer, 16 April 2015
Ursula Halligan
Finally I can tell the truth about myself
Powerful personal writing about homosexuality
Irish Times, 16 May 2015
Christopher Ecclestone
Dementia dismantled my father’s personality
Powerful, direct personal writing
Guardian, 31 May 2015
Jonathan Raban
Simply brilliant descriptive writing
‘Granta’ Magazine, 2008
Anders Fjellberg
The Boys Who Could See England
Astonishing investigative journalism and beautiful writing
New Statesman, 16 July 2015
Quentin Letts
One eye throbbing, he kept lapsing into aw-shucks burbles
The art of the comic sketch writer is to capture a person or event in an entertaining way. Here the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts writes a hilariously bitchy account of a speech by Tony Blair
Daily Mail, 23 July 2015
A letter to the daughter who hates me so very much
Powerful, emotional, poignant
Guardian, 25 July 2015
Aaron Millar
Entertaining travel writing
Independent, 25 July 2015
Giles Fraser
Under this Government, Jesus would be an extremist
Guardian, 22 October. 2015
5 December, 2015
My son’s 21st birthday party will be like his fifth
Tim Dowling, Guardian
13 December, 2015
Is there still any point in collecting books?
Howard Jacobson, BBC, ‘A Point of View’
28 December, 2015
A land on the edge of darkness
Wonderfully vivid descriptive writing
Simon Ingram, Guardian
6 February, 2016
Christina Patterson, Guardian
20 February, 2016
I’ve donned a Wonder Woman costume for the last time
Seriously funny (if occasionally rude) personal writing
Grace Dent, Independent
14 March, 2016
Five things I learned from being bereaved
A beautifully written, desperately sad, humane essay about coming to terms with losing people we love
Alice Bell, blog
8 April, 2016
Why David Cameron is making ISIS happy
A furious bit of polemical writing - wild, funny, clever
Catlin Moran, SA Lifestyle (via The Times)
17 April, 2016
‘We Cannot fix people’s grief’
Amazing writing on bereavement
Giles Fraser, Guardian
23 May, 2016
Funny, sassy writing on a loathing of taking baths
Jessie Klein, New Yorker
Amazing long account of the first signs of Alzheimer’s
NR Kleinfield, New York Times
20 October, 2016
‘Of course we should welcome migrant children ...’
A furiously sarcastic piece about our country’s wilful suspicion of child refugees in Calais
Mark Steel, Independent
5 November, 2016
‘A moment that changed me: being abused on the street about my weight’
A powerful piece on self-identity - it starts with an anecdote and moves into being a polemic. Note: contains profanity
Sofie Hagen, Guardian
5 December, 2016
Funny, poignant piece on how life looks after being diagnosed with cancer
Ian Martin, Guardian
21 December, 2016
The Christmas my in-laws threw out my treasured books
Funny and poignant storytelling by Carol Birch, Guardian
9 February, 2016
The lapwing’s unearthly sound fills the fields
Rich metaphors and a relish for words
Derek Niemann, Guardian Country Diary
Thursday, 9 February 2017