No illusion is more crucial than the illusion that great success and huge money buy you immunity from the common ills of mankind, such as cars that won't start.
Larry McmurtryRead
You expect far too much of a first sentence. Think of it as analagous to a good country breakfast: what we want is something simple, but nourishing to the imagination. Hold the philosophy, hold the adjectives, just give us a plain subject and verb and perhaps a wholesome, nonfattening adverb or two.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of simplicity in writing, particularly in the opening sentence.
Larry McMurtry likens the opening sentence of a text to a good country breakfast, suggesting that it should be straightforward yet fulfilling. He advocates for simplicity in writing, encouraging writers to avoid overly complicated language or excessive philosophical musings in favor of clarity and nourishment for the reader’s imagination.
In practice
A writing workshop discussing the art of crafting effective opening sentences.
No illusion is more crucial than the illusion that great success and huge money buy you immunity from the common ills of mankind, such as cars that won't start.
-she remembered them kindly, for there was a sweetness in boys that didn't last long, once they became men.
Negative feelings are typical of learning, and you shouldn't feel like you're stupid when you're frustrated doing something. You might say to yourself, 'I can't do this,' but you should say, 'That's great.' That means you really have the potential to learn something there.
A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.
It's when children are 15, 16 or 17 that they decide whether they want to be a doctor, an engineer, a politician or go to the Mars or moon. That is the time they start having a dream, and that's the time you can work on them. You can help them shape their dreams.
If the tongue had not been framed for articulation, man would still be a beast in the forest.
If the idea of the universe is presented to the child in the right way, it will do more for him than just arouse his interest, for it will create in him admiration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any interest and more satisfying.
Something stopped me in school a little bit. Anything that I'm not interested in, I can't even feign interest.
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