Writing Down the Bones, The Zen of Writing by Bradbury, Elements of Style, and a book I used in teaching adults to write: "If You Can Talk, You Can Write." I harbor a probably unnatural attraction to all grade levels of Warriner's grammar, which today would probably signal me as a snob and elitist...which I certainly am not. I just loved the logic of diagramming sentences.
Same paths!! I have tried pastel painting, water color, paper quilling, pencil drawing, oil landscapes, even slow stitching. All fun, but not like writing. I read somewhere that if you are looking to figure out your passion, ask your mother because she remembers what you turned to when you were a child. Since I was typing little stories on a manual typewriter at a very young age, that must be right. My favorite book about writing? Like so many: Burd by Bird. How can you not love someone who describes herself as like Pruefrock’s crab scuttling across the birthday party video as a child.
yes i've read most of the books on your list / all good stuff / the most important thing in my view is to have something to say / hey anything can be forgiven if you're passionate and compelling
Wow - I can't believe there's a technique - writing out/copying the words of another writer. Reminds me of high school days where there more lazy/incompetent teachers would make us copy entire lessons from the board into our books rather than actually teaching. You learn very little from mindlessly copying something without thinking about it yourself!
Great essay. I've still got my Zinsser on my shelf. Decades ago, I read a lot about writing: Zinsser, John Gardner, Strunk & White (of course), Fowler, many other reference books. I worked at Borders, and I took charge of the reference section because of the writing books. I was a fan of the American Heritage Dictionary, disappointed in the permissiveness of Merriam-Webster's 3rd edition. I think it was Zinsser who quoted an example of excellent description, about a large, still man: "His very face sat."
If you're unfamiliar with it, I recommend Line by Line by Claire Kehrwald Cook. She does a brilliant job of showing how to tighten and clarify prose, with lots of examples. It's not technical (no arcane language) so much as intensely focused, rewarding your full attention.
I'll subscribe and look for other personal favorites in your thread.
Writing Down the Bones, The Zen of Writing by Bradbury, Elements of Style, and a book I used in teaching adults to write: "If You Can Talk, You Can Write." I harbor a probably unnatural attraction to all grade levels of Warriner's grammar, which today would probably signal me as a snob and elitist...which I certainly am not. I just loved the logic of diagramming sentences.
Same paths!! I have tried pastel painting, water color, paper quilling, pencil drawing, oil landscapes, even slow stitching. All fun, but not like writing. I read somewhere that if you are looking to figure out your passion, ask your mother because she remembers what you turned to when you were a child. Since I was typing little stories on a manual typewriter at a very young age, that must be right. My favorite book about writing? Like so many: Burd by Bird. How can you not love someone who describes herself as like Pruefrock’s crab scuttling across the birthday party video as a child.
yes i've read most of the books on your list / all good stuff / the most important thing in my view is to have something to say / hey anything can be forgiven if you're passionate and compelling
Wow - I can't believe there's a technique - writing out/copying the words of another writer. Reminds me of high school days where there more lazy/incompetent teachers would make us copy entire lessons from the board into our books rather than actually teaching. You learn very little from mindlessly copying something without thinking about it yourself!
Great essay. I've still got my Zinsser on my shelf. Decades ago, I read a lot about writing: Zinsser, John Gardner, Strunk & White (of course), Fowler, many other reference books. I worked at Borders, and I took charge of the reference section because of the writing books. I was a fan of the American Heritage Dictionary, disappointed in the permissiveness of Merriam-Webster's 3rd edition. I think it was Zinsser who quoted an example of excellent description, about a large, still man: "His very face sat."
If you're unfamiliar with it, I recommend Line by Line by Claire Kehrwald Cook. She does a brilliant job of showing how to tighten and clarify prose, with lots of examples. It's not technical (no arcane language) so much as intensely focused, rewarding your full attention.
I'll subscribe and look for other personal favorites in your thread.