“It’s a thousand pages, give or take a few…”
Want to be a writer? Want to be a better writer? At the end of a busy week, here are some useful posts by authors, agents, editors, and critics—perfect reading for a quiet, sunny weekend.
Noting that American writers tend to eschew the adverb, Kevin Wignall ponders a famous passage in which adverbs get things done.
New York Times readers debate the seven deadly words of book reviewing.
Kevin Holtsberry proposes Small Book Appreciation Week.
Richard S. Wheeler builds characters out of beliefs.
BookEnds readers point out books they’ve judged by their covers.
Steven Hart highlights vital advice for novice authors.
Leslie Pietrzyk identifies her best posts about the writing process.
Meg Gardiner summarizes “a few things that make writing ring false.”
Friday, March 28, 2008, at 12:26 pm
Yikes! I found the seven deadly words of book reviewing poignantly compelling. I vow henceforth to excise those words (compelling and poignant) from my arts-reviewing vocabulary.
And regarding the adverbs post, I agree that the final paragraph of “The Dead” is one of the most beautiful ever written. But then we’re talking about a writer who could turn an adverb into a participle (”almosting”) in compelling — and, I should add, poignant — fashion.
Monday, March 31, 2008, at 8:17 am
[…] The seven deadlies March 31, 2008 This list of The Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing is at least one word short. “Luminous” in a review is a never-fail warning that the author spends so much energy crafting nice sentences that such niceties as story, plot and charactertization fall by the wayside. I’m glad to see “resonant” made it into the comments — it’s a fine word for bell-making, but in prose it’s the equivalent of a black-velvet painting. (Bird-dogged by Jeff.) […]