The Writer's Toolbox

[kleph]

while most of the writing-based conversation on zgeek tends to be overall criticism i think there is a need for helping folks on the more technical side of writing. both SOC and myself have experience in journalism and can possibly lend a hand with problems that arise from basic style and grammar issues.

to get this started i would like to make the single most important writing manual ever made for the english language. if you are looking at re-examining the basics of you writing or just interested in what it is we writers do under the hood there is no better resource than Strunk and White's Elements of Style (http://www.bartleby.com/141/).

the original version of this book was published in 1919 and, although there have been updates and revisions, none has changed the core of this slim volume. it is lean and mean and can make you a writing machine.

take a few minutes, if you can, and peruse through a few of the chapters. the advice is sound and the tips for strong writing are the best you can find. best of all, the book is written to show the points it is making. all this and it is a pretty good read, too boot.

i re-read portions of this book every time i am getting ready to write a more involved story just to get me ready.

[Timformation]

Another good resource is Joanne Buckley's "Fit to Print." Although mroe geared towards essay writing, I wore out two copies of this when I was in uni.

[Hired Goon]

Youse dunno nothin. I don't gots me a digree in gernalizm and I can right just fine. your just sayin stuff cos you think your better than us like.

Ahem. Sorry, that was just lame. Although, I have to say, the your/you're thing does irritate me.

*checks for non-deliberate errors*. (Oh god, is non-deliberate an acceptable term, or should I use unintentional? I hope they don't pick me up on the inappropriate use of asterixes - oh crap, what is the term for asterix in plural? Please don't hurt me grammar Nazis!)

[Reprobate]

Go to your local library and check out the section that has BOOKS ON WRITING.

there's bound to be a dozen or so.

Granted there are a few which seems to be a grab for money by author and publisher alike, but even then you might find one page that is helpful in your quest for knowledge.

I'll have to go digging in my hard drive and find the list of books that i kept track of that chased down at about four libraries that were within half an hours drive from my place. when i find them i'll post them here.

[Reprobate]

if memory serves me correctly, i've read most of the books on the attached list (between mid to late 90's).

All of them were available at local libraries (we're talking ones around Lake Macquarie/Newcastle... Australia).

I'd encourage you to read as well as write. though don't spend TOO much time reading because you might not have enough time to write.

for the most part i'd skim through most of the books mentioned here, and if there was a nugget worth keeping i'd read and re-read that bit. a handful of the books were worth reading word for word, from cover to cover.

501 Writers Questions Answered: A Comprehensive Guide To Writing And Getting Published. Author: Nancy Smith
A Field Guide To Writing Fiction. Author: A.B. Guthrie Jr.
A Guide To Book Contracts. Author: Various
Australian Guide To Getting Published. Author: Samantha Schwarz
Becoming A Writer. Author: Laurel Dumbrell. (i made a note to myself that this book sucked)
Big Screen, Small Screen. Writing For Film And Tv In Australia. Author: Coral Drouyn
Creating Popular Fiction: How To Write Novels That Sell. Author: Jennifer Bacia
Grammar: A Students Guide. Author: James Hurford
Guide To Fiction Writing. Author: Phyllis Whitney
Handbook Of Short Story Writing. Authors: Frank Dickson, Sandra Smyth
How To Prepare Your Manuscript For A Publisher. Author: David L. Carroll
How To Sell Every Magazine Article You Write. Author: Lisa Collier Cool
How To Write A Damn Good Novel. Author: James Frey
How To Write A News Article. Author: Michael Kronenwetter
How To Write Action Adventure Novels. Author: Michael Newton
How To Write And Sell Articles. Author: June Duncan Owen
How To Write And Sell Interviews. Author: Sally-Jayne Wright
How To Write And Sell Your First Non Fiction Book. Author: Oscar Collier
How To Write And Sell Your First Novel. Author: Oscar Collier
How To Write Books That Sell. Author: L. Perry Wilbur
How To Write Crime. Edited By Marele Day
How To Write For Publication. Author: Chriss McCallum
How To Write Mysteries. Author: Shannon O’Cork
How To Write Short-Short Stories. Author: Stella Whitelaw
How To Write Stories And Novels That Sell. Author: Fay Goldie
How To Write Stories For Magazines. Author: Donna Baker
Not Now Jack- I’m Writing A Novel. Author: Carmel Bird
On Writing Books For Children. Author: Jenny Wagner
On Writing: Advice For Those Who Write To Publish. Author: Georgw Higgins
Storytrack: Guide To Writing For Children In Australia And NZ. Author: Sally Farrell Odgers
Style Manual For Authors, Editors And Printers. Author: Australian Government.
The Complete Guide To Writing Fiction. Author: Barnaby Conrad
The Complete Guide To Writing Fiction & Non-Fiction. Author: Pat Kubis, Bob Howland
The Craft Of Writing Articles. Author: Gordon Wells
The Idea Factory. Author: Valerie Parv
The New Writers Survival Guide. Author: Dianne Bates
The Plain English Guide: How To Write Clearly And Communicate Better. Author: Martin Cutts
The Writing Machine: A Writers Guide To Creative Computer Use. Author: John Wright (sucked severely)
Waterhouse On Newspaper Style. Author: Keith Waterhouse
Write And Get Paid For It. Author: Terry Prone
Writers Guide To Self-Promotion And Publicity. Author: Elane Feldman
Writing About Travel. Author: Morag Campbell
Writing And Illustrating For Children. Author: Eleanor Stoddart
Writing Feature Articles. Author: Brendan Hennessy
Writing Fiction. An Introduction To The Craft. Author: Garry Fisher
Writing For Children. Author: Eleanor Nilsson
Writing For Children And Getting Published. Author: Lesley Pollinger
Writing For Children And Teenagers. Author: Lee Wyndham
Writing For Money. Author: Pamela Odijk (very good)
Writing For Profit In Australia And New Zealand. Author: Robin Bromby
Writing Professionally. Author: Garry Disher
Writing Science Fiction. Author: Christopher Evans
Writing The Blockbuster Novel. Author: Albert Zuckerman (sucked)
You Can Write: A Do It Yourself Manual. Author: Eamon Murphy
Young Persons Guide To Becoming A Writer. Author: Janet Grant

[walkingwetdream]

I'm doing a writing course at a local community college. I'd recommend to anyone who wants to learn the finer points and hone their skills.

A week ago the tutor wanted us to bring in an example of "bad" writing, the internet being a prime location, so last night I printed this (http://tg.1337.as/Sample/) out and took it in.

He actually photocopied it and handed it out to the rest of the class.

While there didn't appear to be any spelling mistakes there was incorrect usage of the wrong words, the flow was jilted, and padding out writing with 'etc, etc' at the end of sentence was deemed as laziness.

We have to hand a piece of short fiction in at the end of the course, I'll post it here after it's been marked and corrected. Maybe if it's good enough someone here could suggest a suitable magazine to send it into.

[kleph]

first off, your singling out this writer - who happens to be a zgeek member - seems less constructive criticism as mocking. even if it is not the case, the way you presented it in you post clearly gives that impression.

this forum is to help make people better writers, not to belittle those who are not. in fact, there is no one on these boards that has any type of standing to speak with authority about the innate quality of anyone else's work. (and, with ten years of experience as a journalist, i really doubt any community college teacher can tell me much of use at all)

i suggest we not single out other zgeek member's writing for criticism unless they specifically ask for such. if you really want to show some balls, post a piece of your worst writing and ask us to tear it apart. that is really the only way you will improve, tearing someone else apart is simply petty.

[LisaJ]

The very thought of putting words to paper is sometimes frightening. For example, in my family, we have never really put into paper our family history, we have, like many others, relied on the storytellers/storykeepers to keep and tell our family stories. Unfortunatly over time, these people have passed on and our stories are now fractured, with no one being the rightful keeper of these stories.

After having discussions with some of the family members, we have thought about putting our family stories onto paper so that future generations of our family will have an idea of where we come from and also be able to pass the knowledge onto other members of our family.

I guess the thing is, as with most Indigenous cultures, we have an oral history, and its hard to break into something that is still considered "new". My question is, where does one start? Do we record stories and then transcribe them? Do we document everything we can and start from there? or do we start from the now and go back into the past as far as we can go?

[kleph]

actually, lisaj, it really does not matter. just start.

you are right. writing takes a type of bravery because it is damn frightening. i think stephen king once described it as falling into that infinite white abyss of the empty page. it sucks. this is why writers tend to enjoy talking about writing more than actually doing the work itself.

and what you first put down will, i promise, be terrible. but that is important. because until you have something to start making better you can't do anything at all. it is impossible to do a second draft of an empty page.

a lot of people have this strange idea that writers simply sit down, glower at the keys of the typewriter for awhile and just start putting the words down perfectly. it don't happen like that. real writing comes in through editing. build a strong framework in your initial draft and then polish, polish, polish.

hemingway said "easy writing is damned hard reading." and he was right. the more work and effort you put into what you are doing the better the final result will be.

...

all that said, you might want to take a step back with this project and carefully consider what you final goal actually is.

if it is to faithfully relate the oral tradition you might want to simply tape record these stories and transcribe them. the foxfire (http://www.foxfire.org/) series in the u.s. did this superbly. i suggest you check out a few of the entries to get an idea of what can be done.

or, you might want to tell the story as accurately as possible to ensure its content is preserved. in this case you could try and collect as many of the similar stories and construct your own narrative.

in either case, i would suggest you clearly give the background of the storytellers as well. either as an introduction or part of how you tell the tale. because all stories tell us something about the people who tell them and that is part of what you are trying to preserve as well.

[m0loch]

I came up with a good idea for a short story and had to dig to find this thread, so now I'm bumping it up.

[kleph]

lost my link to strunk & white so bump again.

[Seeker]

Very cool info Kleph thanks.

[Xythan]

Yeah, cool man...thank you...