Lovely Girl   +  writing tips

I'm a huge fan of Newsweek's "My Turn" column, which features a funny, often poignant personal essay written by a different reader each week. I've even submitted a few of my own, but so far no luck. I thought this week's column on The Importance of Being Neighborly is particularly well-written. The author's use of detail really evokes her neighbor's personality:"I pegged Bill right away as one of those fiftysomething counterculture types who'd tried on the 1960s and found a fit for life."Her description of Bill is so vivid he could be standing in my garage (if I had one). However, what really got me was her ending. I won't spoil it, but it's one of those perfectly phrased conclusions that writers spend days, make that years, trying to finesse. It's not overly sentimental or contrived, and it doesn't hit you over the head with a message. It just ends with a clear, simple image that makes the reader smile.