QMusings

I thought I’d share with you six books I have found valuable in my quest to become a better writer.

I’ve read numerous books on writing but these are the six that I found valuable. I especially like Stephen King’s book. I flip through it when I need some encouragement with my writing!

1) “The Elements Of Style” By William Strunk Jr. and E.B.White

This book is a classic. It’s small and powerful. Earlier editions were written several decades before I was born.

Excerpts:
Put statements in positive form. Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.

Weak: He was not very often on time.
Strong: He usually came late.

Do not explain too much.

It is seldom advisable to tell all. Be sparing, for instance, in the use of adverbs after “he said,” “she replied,” and the like: “he said consolingly”; “she replied grumblingly.” Let the conversation itself disclose the speaker’s manner or condition.

Or as several books on writing have advised: Don’t Tell – Show.

2) “On Writing: A Memoir Of the Craft” by Stephen King.

Speaking about showing, I love the writing of Stephen King. After reading “The Green Mile” I appreciated Mr. King’s skill as a storyteller.

Mr. King begins his book as memoir. He follows this with his thoughts about writing itself:

“Description is what makes a reader a sensory participant in the story. Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons why you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It’s not just a question of how-to, you see; it’s also a question of how much to. Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how. You can learn only by doing.”

My favorite section of his book is about dialogue. His advice is the same as given in “The Elements Of Style” – show, don’t tell. If the characters are angry, don’t write “He shouted at her.” instead chose words and actions that show the anger.

3) “Bird By Bird: Some Instructions On Writing and Life” by Anne Lamott.

I thoroughly enjoyed two of Ms. Lamott’s memoirs, “Operating Instructions” and “Traveling Mercies.” If you’re the type of writer with low self-esteem, riddled with self-doubt yet clinging with ragged nails to the crumbling cliff of your humor, this is a great book to read. She has many great tips and thoughts on writing and the one I use is to always carry several index cards and a pen with me.

The index cards offer a firm writing surface without a lot of bulk and the pen is used to jot down any of my writing ideas.

4) “The Elements Of Grammar” by Margaret Shertzer.

A small book that covers the basics and is a companion to the aforementioned “The Elements Of Style.”

5) “Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide To Better English In Plain English” by Patricia T. O’Connor.

I refer to this book whenever I am confused about using who/whom or my/mine and whether a comma goes inside or outside a quote. A comma goes inside the quote:

“I don’t eat chicken feet,” said Ms. Q.

The book explains the rules of grammar as advertised – in plain English and gives plenty of examples. It’s also a fun book to read.

6) “Escaping Into The Open: The Art Of Writing True” by Elizabeth Berg.

I love the simplicity of Ms. Berg’s writing. I become lost in her novels – her writing is so effortless, so spare, and so natural that no matter whom the character is I feel as if I am reading my own thoughts.

Her book gives writing exercises like, “If you’re a woman, write as a man.”

Some other advice:

“When you’re trying to write naturally, the most important thing to do is relax. … Perhaps the best way for me to try to explain it is to ask you to consider how you walk. You don’t plan ahead and think about every move. ”

“Try to be ever observant, to look beyond the surfaces. Let yourself feel everything you can. When you listen to the way people talk, hear the phrasing, the accent, the pauses, the pacing, the words beneath the words.”

My Six Books:

1. “The Elements Of Style” By William Strunk Jr and E.B.White, ISBN: 978-0205309023
2. “On Writing: A Memoir Of the Craft by Stephen King. ISBN: 978-0743455961″
3. “Bird By Bird: Some Instructions On Writing and Life” by Anne Lamott, ISBN: 978-0385480017
4. “The Elements Of Grammar” by Margaret Shertzer, ISBN: 978-0028614496
5. “Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide To Better English In Plain English” by Patricia T. O’Connor, ISBN: 978-1594480065
6. “Escaping Into The Open: The Art Of Writing True” by Elizabeth Berg, ISBN: 978-0060929299

Tomorrow I share my thoughts about writing.

If you’re interested in ordering these books, I’d like to recommend Booksmoothie. Booksmoothie was developed by a friend who I would love to see succeed!

“booksmoothie is a book price search engine website designed to make it easier for you to find books. It is a free service offered to the users of the website. It has the capability to search for multiple books at once from various online bookstores and calculates the total cost for you so you don’t have to. ”

Check out booksmoothie for a price comparison. The link leads you to a price comparison if you were to order all six books.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS