Tag: writer
Literary Tradition…Steal From It
“Know your literary tradition, savor it, steal from it, but when you sit down to write, forget about worshiping greatness and fetishizing masterpieces.”
—Allegra Goodman
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Read the Library, Write the Book
“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.”
—Samuel Johnson
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Die Not, My Adverb—Overwhelm Not
[found on huffingtonpost.com; by Maddie Crum]
In Defense of Adverbs
“Like like and other filler words, certain adverbs have saturated our speech and our writing, making once-meaningful phrases seem totally vapid. The idea that adverbs are just extraneous fluff has led to a smear campaign against them, and it’s become common to suggest axing the part of speech altogether in order to make writing more powerful. This forceful call for more forceful writing is misguided; adverbs can be phonetically pleasing, can imbue sentences with subtlety, and should not be entirely shunned.
First, a refresher: What does an adverb do? It tells us more about a verb. If a character is running from point A to point B, “he ran” is a description that doesn’t sufficiently set the scene. How did he run? Quickly? Scatteredly? “He ran quickly and scatteredly” is less powerful than “he scampered,” an adverbless sentence that conveys the same point more succinctly. And so, many writers have spoken vehemently against the use of adverbs.
This is unfortunate because when used well, adverbs serve an important purpose, and can enhance writing rather than detract from it.”
[found on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/madeleine-crum/in-defense-of-adverbs_b_4860325.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063]
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Construction Ahead
Book On Sports? Excellent.
[found on ehow.com; by Vyvyan Lynn]
“Writing a sports book requires planning. For instance, in order to write a book about University of Georgia football, you have to decide if you will write about a certain time period in the history of the university’s football program or if your book will encompass the entire history of the program.
You could write specifically about the coaches, outstanding players or one outstanding player, such as Herschel Walker. Writing a project plan saves time in the long run and also meshes the creative process together with the business process.
The business process keeps you thinking about writing to your reader or target audience so that your finished product is marketable.”
For more on sports writing from Vyvyan Lynn, click HERE.
[found on http://www.ehow.com/how_7716241_write-sports-book.html]
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Readers at Odds
“If you’re a voracious reader and you write something that you want to read, odds are other people will want to read it, too.”
— Tim Maleeny
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Stories Make Up Everything
Affect vs. Effect = Influence vs. Result
[found on quickanddirtytips.com]
“What Is the Difference Between Affect and Effect?
Before we get to the memory trick though, I want to explain the difference between the two words: The majority of the time you use affect with an a as a verb and effect with an e as a noun.
When Should You Use Affect?
Affect with an a means “to influence,” as in, “The arrows affected Aardvark,” or “The rain affected Amy’s hairdo.” Affect can also mean, roughly, “to act in a way that you don’t feel,” as in, “She affected an air of superiority.”
When Should You Use Effect?
Effect with an e has a lot of subtle meanings as a noun, but to me the meaning “a result” seems to be at the core of all the definitions. For example, you can say, “The effect was eye-popping,” or “The sound effects were amazing,” or “The rain had no effect on Amy’s hairdo.””
To read the full article on Affect vs. Effect from Grammar Girl at QuickAndDirtyTips.com, click HERE.
Editing Addict, LLC 