--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no single formula for good…" description: "\"There is no single formula for good sentence. An invisible integument that gives the sentence wholeness and musicality, sometimes. But other times, the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/rachel-kushner-3631_giving_there-is-no-single-formula-for-good-sent_3029201.jpg" --- # There is no single formula for good sentence. An invisible… ![“There is no single formula for good sentence. An invisible integument that gives the sentence wholeness and musicality, sometimes. But other times, the formula is almost purely one of context. And yet other times, of sheer precision of meaning. This is a good sentence: "Just as he was settling…” quote by Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/rachel-kushner-3631_giving_there-is-no-single-formula-for-good-sent_3029201.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/rachel-kushner-3631_giving_there-is-no-single-formula-for-good-sent_3029201.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/rachel-kushner-3631_giving_there-is-no-single-formula-for-good-sent_3029201.jpg) > “There is no single formula for good sentence. An invisible integument that gives the sentence wholeness and musicality, sometimes. But other times, the formula is almost purely one of context. And yet other times, of sheer precision of meaning. This is a good sentence: "Just as he was settling into the warm mud of alcoholic gloom, Shrike caught his arm." "Warm mud of alcoholic gloom" is exact and right and accurate.” [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good sentences lack a single formula; they may rely on wholeness, musicality, context, or precise meaning, as illustrated by a vivid, atmospheric example. **In simple terms:** Sentences succeed through varied elements, not a fixed rule. Key Takeaway Focus on context and precision when writing. Themes writing style precision musicality context Mood analytical inspired Type educational literary When to use this quote - editing prose - teaching writing - literary criticism - author workshops Key Concepts syntactic analysis creative expression Questions to Reflect On - When does a sentence feel complete? - Which element matters most to you? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on formula can stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Gloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloom/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) ## Related quotes > [The good thing about films is, you never know how good they will be. If there was a formula, there would only be good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udo-kier/the-good-thing-about-films-is-you-never-know-how-good-they-will-be-if/) [Udo Kier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/udo-kier/) > [One has to guard against a formula that is good for everything, that can interpret reality in addition to the other arts, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/one-has-to-guard-against-a-formula-that-is-good-for-everything-that/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [There's no right time to have kids and no perfect formula. The good news is there isn't a wrong way, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-massenet/there-s-no-right-time-to-have-kids-and-no-perfect-formula-the-good/) [Natalie Massenet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-massenet/) > [I don't think there is any set formula to have a good relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-khemu/i-don-t-think-there-is-any-set-formula-to-have-a-good-relationship/) [Kunal Khemu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-khemu/) > [When you're talking about proper competition, I think Formula E has good competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-massa/when-you-re-talking-about-proper-competition-i-think-formula-e-has/) [Felipe Massa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-massa/) > [When we trust the makers of baby formula more than we do our own ability to nourish our babies, we lose a chance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-trust-the-makers-of-baby-formula-more-than-we-do-our-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing is more satisfying than to write a good sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/nothing-is-more-satisfying-than-to-write-a-good-sentence/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [A good sentence is a key . It unlocks the mind of the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-good-sentence-is-a-key-it-unlocks-the-mind-of-the-reader/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I don't have any real goals except to follow one good sentence with another... I'm not the kind of writer who has a map.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/i-don-t-have-any-real-goals-except-to-follow-one-good-sentence-with/) [Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/) > [“When he lifted her into the wheelchair, he was very careful not to make a mistake , not to let her fall. She said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-gauer/when-he-lifted-her-into-the-wheelchair-he-was-very-careful-not-to/) Stephen Gauer > [I know what a good sentence looks like. I read a lot, so I know what reads well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-g/i-know-what-a-good-sentence-looks-like-i-read-a-lot-so-i-know-what/) [Alex G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-g/) > [“No complete son of a bitch ever wrote a good sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/no-complete-son-of-a-bitch-ever-wrote-a-good-sentence/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [“to know your true value in a state brings forth good intentions and value into that which is Now for you. And this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marie-bergman/to-know-your-true-value-in-a-state-brings-forth-good-intentions-and/) [Catherine Marie Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marie-bergman/) > [Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/next-to-the-originator-of-a-good-sentence-is-the-first-quoter-of-it-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I love writing. I don't claim to be great at it. Occasionally I get a good sentence off. But I love the activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-love-writing-i-don-t-claim-to-be-great-at-it-occasionally-i-get-a/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) ## More by Rachel Kushner > [Leave, with no answer. Move on to the next question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/leave-with-no-answer-move-on-to-the-next-question/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [Motorcycles aren't about gaining agency, I don't think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/motorcycles-aren-t-about-gaining-agency-i-don-t-think/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“Gloria was still talking, something about how shooting people was in a sense safer than making art, in terms of avoiding serious lapses in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/gloria-was-still-talking-something-about-how-shooting-people-was-in-a/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“Because I didn't move here to fall in love. The desire for love is universal but that has never meant it's worthy of respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/because-i-didn-t-move-here-to-fall-in-love-the-desire-for-love-is/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [Authenticity is too big a subject to just toss in with the question about the photographs!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/authenticity-is-too-big-a-subject-to-just-toss-in-with-the-question/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“We were in separate realities, fast and slow. There is no fixed reality, only objects in contrast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/we-were-in-separate-realities-fast-and-slow-there-is-no-fixed-reality/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [It's really a misconception to identify the writer with the main character, given that the author creates all the characters in the book. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/it-s-really-a-misconception-to-identify-the-writer-with-the-main/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [People are complicated. Personally I don't go in for puritanical people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/people-are-complicated-personally-i-don-t-go-in-for-puritanical-people/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [I am a rereader. Quality is variety if you wait long enough. Barthes, Baudelaire, Benjamin, Celine, Duras, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Melville: There is so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/i-am-a-rereader-quality-is-variety-if-you-wait-long-enough-barthes/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“But I had seen, the night I met her, that her beauty was going to leave her like it does all women. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/but-i-had-seen-the-night-i-met-her-that-her-beauty-was-going-to-leave/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [When I see things in the world that leap out at me, I want to make use of them in fiction. Maybe every writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/when-i-see-things-in-the-world-that-leap-out-at-me-i-want-to-make-use/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [While it might be true that our reality would suggest that more writers would address these elemental issues of modern life - work, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/while-it-might-be-true-that-our-reality-would-suggest-that-more/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [And here I arrive at my point. The point is that everyone has a different dream. The point is that it is a grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/and-here-i-arrive-at-my-point-the-point-is-that-everyone-has-a/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [I guess I still feel that way and yet I'm slightly hesitant to insist on that idea, that it "better be fun for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/i-guess-i-still-feel-that-way-and-yet-i-m-slightly-hesitant-to-insist/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [A lot of politics in art is just institutional critique, which, in my opinion, is not all that political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/a-lot-of-politics-in-art-is-just-institutional-critique-which-in-my/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) [Explore all 124 Rachel Kushner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no single formula for good sentence. 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