Mr. Rotella does not seem to be a practiced writer.
There he shared his cell with an author, Rustichello of Pisa, and "the practiced writer of romances teamed up with the restless wanderer".
But there's still room on the shelves — and perhaps in your e-reader of choice — for first-time novelists (two of them make this month's roundup), a practiced writer of short stories and a humorist aiming for that David Sedaris slot on the best-seller list.
Lord published two novels in his younger years, and although he later emphatically rejected them, "My Queer War" reflects the skills of a practiced fiction writer who can track a young man's shifting consciousness and knows what is best left unsaid.
After handing her back, the working writer turned a practiced eye to the dwindling pile of books and noted, "I need more books up here!" Around 9 p.m., the music switched to mellow James Taylor, and the bar was dismantled.
But how can we be truly moved when we recognize — and we can't fail to — the practiced craft with which the writer, our humble servant, has guided us?
Many of these tales end with an O. Henry-like twist, a little flourish of (at best) dramatic irony or (at worst) wild coincidence, which the writer delivers with the practiced flair of a stage illusionist finishing his trick.
(She had practiced that).
"Just practiced medicine?
