Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Writing can be such a tease
A jumble of books on the craft of writing competes for space on my crowded bookshelves. One book never finds a resting place there.
It is possibly the best book on writing non-fiction or fiction that I have ever read and has become a go to reference work due to its simplicity of structure and working examples.
I read it cover to cover and now dip in to it for specific topics.
The book makes use of two Pulitzer Prize-winning articles written by the author, who explains in detail every aspect of their construction and execution in easy to understand terms. The author also describes his process for focusing on the key points of the story and achieving a result with which the reader can resonate.
The appendixes contain a dissection of each article with no less than 292 annotations defining the reason or purpose of each word, phrase or thought in the articles.
The small paperback book is truly a remarkable aid to understanding the craft of writing for story.
So what is this book - I'll reveal that in my next post.
