Writer's write

Writer's Write

The best approaches for improving your writing are to critically read good writers, to have your writing critiqued by someone who knows what they are doing, and to write every day. Of these three points, writing as often as possible is most important. A fourth approach is to read about writing. Nothing you read will do you a lick of good if you don't try to put your reading to practice. However, if you commit yourself to becoming a better writer, these references absolutely will help. Listed here are some key references on writing, and a summary of the key points from Strunk and White's class The Elements of Style. I use this summary as a reminder.

Elements of The Elements of Style

Elementary Rules of Usage

Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's
In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last
Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause
Do not join independent clauses by a comma
Do not break sentences in two
Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list of particulars, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quote
Use a dash to set off an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary
The number of the subject determines the number of the verb
Use the proper case of the pronoun
A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject

Elementary Principles of Composition

Choose a suitable design and hold to it
Make the paragraph the unit of composition
Use the active voice
Put statements in positive form
Use definite, specific, concrete language
Omit needless words
Avoid a succession of loose sentences
Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
Keep related words together
In summaries, keep to one tense
Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end

Style

Place yourself in the background
Write in a way that comes naturally
Work from a suitable design
Write with nouns and verbs
Revise and rewrite
Do not overwrite
Do not overstate
Avoid the use of qualifiers
Do not affect a breezy manner
Use orthodox spelling
Do not explain too much
Do not construct awkward adverbs
Make sure the reader knows who is speaking
Avoid fancy words
Do not use dialect unless your ear is good
Be clear
Do not inject opinion
Use figures of speech sparingly
Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity
Avoid foreign languages
Prefer the standard to the offbeat

References on Writing

Dictionaries
Beyond the references here, a good dictionary (or dictionaries) is essential. We are fortunate in having wonderful dictionaries for the English language. I have great affection for the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, because it was the first good dictionary I owned, and it is a detailed, easily used single volume. For more definitive definitions, I love The New Shorter Oxford Dictionary, but unfortunately being in two volumes makes this more cumbersome. The finest dictionary (perhaps of any language) is unquestionably The Oxford English Dictionary, or OED to aficionados. I don't have the $3,000 or shelf space for the 16 volumes of the OED. However, I did find a couple hundred dollars to buy The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, which is the OED reduced micrographically to nine pages per page (and readable with a magnifier). Best money I ever spent.

Writing on Writing
In a continuing effort to improve my writing, I have amassed over the years shelves of books about writing. If I could retain and use but a fraction of the information in any one of these volumes, I have no doubt my prose would show dramatic improvement. The one book on this list all serious writers must have is Strunk and White. My other strong recommendation is Zinsser.

Balkin, R. 1985. A Writer's Guide to Contract Negotiations. Writer's Digest Books, Cincinnati. 149pp.
– If you are going to deal with evil publishers (that includes all publishers of my experience), then you might find this to be helpful.
Barrass, R. 1978. Scientists Must Write. Chapman and Hall, New York. 76pp.
– Well, the title says it all. A good book with excellent advice for scientific writers.
Born, R. C. 1986. The Suspended Sentence. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 214pp.
– An entertaining guide, with terse, well-directed advice for improving your prose.
Brock, S. 1988. Idiom's Delight. Times Books, New York. 158pp.
– An entertaining reflection on English usage.
Burchfield, R. W., ed. 1996. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage – 3rd edition. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, England. 864pp.
– This volume is an updating of the classic book on English usage first written by H.W. Fowler in 1926. It retains many of the best features of the Fowler's essays, with welcome updating. If I were to pick a single reference on English usage, this would be my choice.
CBE Style Manual Committee. 1978. Council of Biology Editors Style Manual. 4th ed. Council of Biology Editors, Inc., Arlington. 265pp.
– One of the standard style guides for scientific writing (I think there is now a later edition). Many of the scientific journals will appeal to CBE in setting their style.
Cook, C. K. 1985. Line by Line. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 219pp.
– A look at common errors and how to avoid them, with lots of examples
Follett, W. (Barzun, J., ed.) 1966. Modern American Usage. Hill and Wang, New York. 436pp.
– Essentially Fowler (see next entry) for the modern American writer. The discussion is clear and useful, and more updated than Folwer.
Fowler, H. W. (Gowers, E., Sir, ed.) 1965. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, New York. 725pp.
– Long the standard guide to usage for English, Folwer offers wonderful discussions of usage issues, with short essays on many topics. Surprisingly fun to read.
Gordon, K. E. 1984. The Transitive Vampire. Times Books, New York. (subtitled: A handbook of grammar for the innocent, eager, and the doomed.)
– Can grammar can be made entertaining? I think this short book proves that it can.
Gordon, K. E. 1983. The Well-Tempered Sentence. Ticknor and Fields, New York. (subtitled: A punctuation handbook for the innocent, eager, and the doomed.)
– A succinct, amusing look at common issues in punctuation.
Larsen, M. 1985. How to Write a Book Proposal. Writer's Digest Books, Cincinnati. 113.
– A “how to” book for getting a publisher interested in your book.
Parker, R. C. 1990. Looking Good in Print: A Guide to Basic Design for Desktop Publishing. 2nd ed. Ventana Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 371pp.
– Dated perhaps regarding software, but the discussion of design issues is timeless.
Polking, K. (ed.). 1987. A Beginner's Guide to Getting Published. Writer's Digest Books, Cincinnati. 152pp.
– Another aid for entries in the “I want to get a half million dollar advance on my first novel” sweepstakes.
Safire, W. 1990. Fumblerules. Doubleday, New York. 153pp.
– Although I mostly disagree with all of Safire’s political opinions, I do recognize that he is a fine writer. A short, amusing guide to grammar and usage.
Strunk, W., Jr. and White, E. B. 1979. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York. 92pp.
– If you write in English, you must own this book. I try to re-read it every year (which shows I'm a slow learner).
University of Chicago Press. 1993. A Manual of Style. 14th ed. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
– The major style manual for English. Exhaustive.
Zinsser, W. 1985. On Writing Well. 3rd ed. Harper and Row, Publishers, New York. 246pp.
– I find this to be the best of the “how to improve your writing books” (second only to Strunk and White). Buy it, read it, live it.

Look homeward, angel

This page was last modified on Saturday, March 08, 2008 by L. G. Higley.