When
an agent asked me to share a favorite sentence from my manuscript, I blanked. I
could come up with a favorite scene, but a favorite sentence? I don’t even remember
the great movie lines. When I hear them, I might be able to identify the movie,
but it doesn’t work the other way around. And how do you isolate a sentence
from the story itself? Even the most memorable lines fall flat if you don’t
know the context.
Besides,
I’d like to think that each of my sentences is brilliant. If I didn’t like it,
why would I put it in? Well, I will admit to an occasional dud, but not on
purpose.
Seriously,
though, I believe in simple, direct writing that challenges my middle-grade
readers but doesn’t frustrate them. Ornamentation is not my style. So after
scanning my manuscript, I chose this sentence.
“As I swam, the water acted like a mirror, reflecting the
curve of the approaching shore, the black trunk and branches of the lone tree,
and the green of its leaves.”
So
is it my favorite? Probably not. But it does reflect my writing style.
And
that will have to do.
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