To be a careful writer, you have to be a careful reader first. Let’s jot down some expressions every now and then:

  • She has to crane her neck to see …
  • The treetops swayed in the breeze, nodding their welcome to her.
  • Mariam steadied herself against the waves of dismay passing through her.
  • She drew her knees to her chest.
  • She listened to the crickets chirping from gardens. Overhead, clouds slid past a pale moon.
  • A pair of hands buried into her armpits and she was lifted off the ground.
  • A stray dog
  • her puffy eyes
  • “Would you point me?”
  • “I’ll walk you.”
  • Bees are buzzing over twinkling wildflowers.
  • with a woebegone expressions on his face
  • His arm draped over her shoulder.
  • Jalil guided her, one palm cupped around each of her shoulders.
  • Matryoshka dolls