Whenever one of my articles get rejected, I read it again and almost always find a whole section I can delete. Sometimes when I find myself struggling with a sentence, I find the solution is to delete the whole paragraph. You want to give your readers as few opportunities to abandon the text as possible :) I haven't read this book, I should give it a look!
Been a fan for many years. I’d probably add a number five to his list, rhythm. Great writing has a beat, a pace that keeps a reader moving through the piece. I think all of his advice might come down to learning how to do this by subtraction, removing any element that interrupts that beat. We know about snappy writing, sonorous writing, and other descriptions that echo auditory basics. For me, after forty years of writing, getting a rhythm right is when everything comes together.
Yes. You are dead right. Love that one so much. I think he addresses that, as you say, through subtraction. But you're so right it can't be over said. There is a rhythm to writing that turns it from words into magic.
I read your Medium article on this book, back when I read articles on Medium. My partner [a fiction writer] was not interested in the book. Fine, I'll buy it for me, then. If I ever write anything, it'll be non-fiction. Thanks for the reminder.
You know, you're one of the few people I know that doesn't desperately need that book. You write lean and mean. Fabulously concise, tight writing. But that said, I'd be interested in your take on it for that very reason. :)
"Only 14% of Americans read at high school or higher literacy rates."
What (-and I cannot stress this enough) The Actual Fvck ???
Combined with the insidious influence of Rupert Murdoch, that one sentence alone completely explains Trump and his MagaCult, the Climate Emergency, and the 1% parasitic capitalists who've gotten away with it all.
Right? Indeed. Everywhere we look, people are saying the same things. Not enough listening, though. That's a whole topic itself.
Great article dear linda
Thanks! :)
Whenever one of my articles get rejected, I read it again and almost always find a whole section I can delete. Sometimes when I find myself struggling with a sentence, I find the solution is to delete the whole paragraph. You want to give your readers as few opportunities to abandon the text as possible :) I haven't read this book, I should give it a look!
I'd love to hear your take on it if you do read it. :)
Been a fan for many years. I’d probably add a number five to his list, rhythm. Great writing has a beat, a pace that keeps a reader moving through the piece. I think all of his advice might come down to learning how to do this by subtraction, removing any element that interrupts that beat. We know about snappy writing, sonorous writing, and other descriptions that echo auditory basics. For me, after forty years of writing, getting a rhythm right is when everything comes together.
Yes. You are dead right. Love that one so much. I think he addresses that, as you say, through subtraction. But you're so right it can't be over said. There is a rhythm to writing that turns it from words into magic.
I'm with Walter--it's the only book on writing that I keep referring back to -- thanks for the reinforcement! ❤️
It's a good one to refer back to, that's for sure. Probably one of the best I think.
I've read it -- but that was a long time ago. Time to reread. That and Stephen King's "On Writing" are treasures.
They really are. I re-read both from time to time. That and Man's Search for Meaning. I read that every couple of years.
OMG -- my mother introduced me to Man's Search for Meaning decades ago -- I need to revisit it. Long past time.
It's a great one, though I'm a classic under-writer. Lots of my pieces, when I look back on them (I try not to,) can't seem to breathe.
Oh, that's such a hard thing -- going back and re-reading our writing. Pretty small window of time in which I can do that and not groan. lol
For that Dorothea Brande's "Becoming a Writer" had some tips that helped me.
Buying it right now.
Love to know what you think once you get it. Do come back and tell me, okay?
I read your Medium article on this book, back when I read articles on Medium. My partner [a fiction writer] was not interested in the book. Fine, I'll buy it for me, then. If I ever write anything, it'll be non-fiction. Thanks for the reminder.
Wow, that's a long time you've been reading me. Thank you for that. And you're very welcome.
I haven’t read it. Yet. Going to have to prioritize it. :)
You know, you're one of the few people I know that doesn't desperately need that book. You write lean and mean. Fabulously concise, tight writing. But that said, I'd be interested in your take on it for that very reason. :)
"Only 14% of Americans read at high school or higher literacy rates."
What (-and I cannot stress this enough) The Actual Fvck ???
Combined with the insidious influence of Rupert Murdoch, that one sentence alone completely explains Trump and his MagaCult, the Climate Emergency, and the 1% parasitic capitalists who've gotten away with it all.
Confirming why America is a failed State.
I know. Right? 82%. Grade school level. It's sobering.
Not sobering - scary.
I'm reading it, and I think my writing is improving as a result.
(Was that brief enough?)