owlcroft
February 4th, 2010, 09:46 PM
A recent thread in which a fledgling author asked for critiques set me thinking that it wouldn't hurt to marshall a few resources for those just beginning to write, or contemplating writing, some fiction.
The things first in importance are too often the things last in new writers' concerns. Anxious to get their thoughts set down, they forget that a story is a telling--a putting of concepts into words that effectively communicate those concepts to others. Thus, the first thing a writer needs to do is acquire some mastery of the art or science (as you please) of expressing thoughts in words. Such mastery comes in two sorts: the mechanical, which is basic but, as the term suggests, learnable as rules, things that can be looked up; and the esthetic, which is not as subjective as many imagine, for it, too, has learnable guiding principles.
Never forget what someone once said: serving up your thoughts in poor prose is like serving up a dinner on dirty, cracked, chipped plates: it ceases to matter how tasty the food might be.
The mechanical aspects can be considered as diction (word choice), grammar, and usage. Diction is best served by, duh, a dictionary. But it is a mistake to believe that dictionaries are fungible. English has, for the last half-century or so, been torn by a split between two schools, usually called "prescriptive" and "descriptive" (http://owlcroft.com/english/prescrip.shtml), whose respective proponents typically see the others as demons from Hell. That split manifests in dictionaries: some will say that "imply" and "infer" are used interchangeably even by literate writers; others will not. Without entering into that whole debate, the crux is that advocates of descriptive English invariably set forth their advocacy in impeccably prescriptive language. That means that if you elect to carefully follow the established rules of diction, grammar, and usage, neither school will find your writing exceptionable; but if you follow the "whatever" descriptive line, you will raise many readers' hackles.
That follows what I have elsewhere called "Walker's Law of Least Cervical Displacement": write so that your words cause the fewest possible number of readers to snap their heads up saying "What?!?"
For dictionaries, the Gold Standard is the OED, the full, unabridged Oxford English Dictionary; but very few who do not already have it will want to spend the needed money (and using it properly takes some training in itself). For dictionaries one can hold in one hand, probably the best is the AHD, the American Heritage Dictionary, of the latest edition (currently the 4th--get only the full version, not the "high school" or "college" or "office" or "desk" versions); new, it's about $35 (shipped), but used can be had for under $10 (also shipped cost). But whichever you consider, run away screaming from anything with the word "Merriam" in the title or otherwise associated with it.
(A thesaurus is probably not a good idea: if you want another word, whether for sense or rhythm, it is best to stick to those that come natural to your thoughts.)
For grammar, the most reliable is George O. Curme's classic English Grammar. Though the original is two volumes in hardcover at a cost of roughly a third-world nation's GNP, the wonderful Barnes & Noble "College Outline Series" paperback version is widely available for virtually just the cost of shipping ($1 nominal book cost); it is pretty much the same as the full set only with copious examples and background elided--the "guts" are all there.
For usage, there are four classic references. Probably the most useful is Wilson Follett's Modern American Usage, but avoid like the plague the "updated" version revised by Erik Wensberg. Used copies of the original hardcover can be had from under $4 shipped. Another goodie here is Ted Bernstein's manual The Careful Writer: it also is available for under $4 shipped. Another great standard is Fowler's Modern English Usage, the granddaddy of all usage manuals; but it is vital to get only the original 1st edition (widely available new or used in very inexpensive paperback form). Later "improvers" largely tore about and generally raped the original. Finally, there is the newest of the lot, Bryan Garner's Dictionary of Modern American Usage; being newer, it is not as inexpensive as the others, but can be had for under $10 shipped (but make sure you're not looking at his dictionary of legal usage, a wholly separate work).
That lot will cover all the "mechanical" aspects of writing. Even though each is intended as a reference book--look up a given particular point when it puzzles you--for each except the actual dictionary it will repay the writer, new or experienced, to sit down and actually read it through cover to cover. You may be amazed at the matters you never before considered.
When it comes to matters of general prose styling--the difference between clunky and elegant--there are several more works worth reviewing. At the fairly basic level, there are Jacques Barzun's Simple & Direct and Sir Ernest Gowers' Plain Words (originally in two volumes, now widely avaialbe in a single one, usually with the word "Complete" in the title); again, each is available used at very moderate cost, and each is a good friend to the beginning writer. At a distinctly higher level is the classic English Prose Style by Herbert Read (author of the fantasy novel The Green Child). It is replete with extended examples of what its title describes, and no writer with serious intentions should be ignorant of it.
Turning more particularly to fantastic fiction, your first stop should be the web site of the SFWA (http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/information-center/) (Science-Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America); and that is triply so if you are planning to write for commercial publication. The number of pitfalls--and outright scams--lurking in wait for the prospective specfic writer are legion. Follow out every link they offer, and read them all with care.
Beyond that, Google Is Your Friend (http://www.google.com/search?q=writing+fantasy+OR+"science+fiction), but . . . don't assume everything you read is good advice, even if it comes from what seems a reputable source (such as a published author).
(Finally, there are a few thoughts (http://greatsfandf.com/apologia.php) of my own that--though aimed at readers--some developing writers have told me they found useful.)
The things first in importance are too often the things last in new writers' concerns. Anxious to get their thoughts set down, they forget that a story is a telling--a putting of concepts into words that effectively communicate those concepts to others. Thus, the first thing a writer needs to do is acquire some mastery of the art or science (as you please) of expressing thoughts in words. Such mastery comes in two sorts: the mechanical, which is basic but, as the term suggests, learnable as rules, things that can be looked up; and the esthetic, which is not as subjective as many imagine, for it, too, has learnable guiding principles.
Never forget what someone once said: serving up your thoughts in poor prose is like serving up a dinner on dirty, cracked, chipped plates: it ceases to matter how tasty the food might be.
The mechanical aspects can be considered as diction (word choice), grammar, and usage. Diction is best served by, duh, a dictionary. But it is a mistake to believe that dictionaries are fungible. English has, for the last half-century or so, been torn by a split between two schools, usually called "prescriptive" and "descriptive" (http://owlcroft.com/english/prescrip.shtml), whose respective proponents typically see the others as demons from Hell. That split manifests in dictionaries: some will say that "imply" and "infer" are used interchangeably even by literate writers; others will not. Without entering into that whole debate, the crux is that advocates of descriptive English invariably set forth their advocacy in impeccably prescriptive language. That means that if you elect to carefully follow the established rules of diction, grammar, and usage, neither school will find your writing exceptionable; but if you follow the "whatever" descriptive line, you will raise many readers' hackles.
That follows what I have elsewhere called "Walker's Law of Least Cervical Displacement": write so that your words cause the fewest possible number of readers to snap their heads up saying "What?!?"
For dictionaries, the Gold Standard is the OED, the full, unabridged Oxford English Dictionary; but very few who do not already have it will want to spend the needed money (and using it properly takes some training in itself). For dictionaries one can hold in one hand, probably the best is the AHD, the American Heritage Dictionary, of the latest edition (currently the 4th--get only the full version, not the "high school" or "college" or "office" or "desk" versions); new, it's about $35 (shipped), but used can be had for under $10 (also shipped cost). But whichever you consider, run away screaming from anything with the word "Merriam" in the title or otherwise associated with it.
(A thesaurus is probably not a good idea: if you want another word, whether for sense or rhythm, it is best to stick to those that come natural to your thoughts.)
For grammar, the most reliable is George O. Curme's classic English Grammar. Though the original is two volumes in hardcover at a cost of roughly a third-world nation's GNP, the wonderful Barnes & Noble "College Outline Series" paperback version is widely available for virtually just the cost of shipping ($1 nominal book cost); it is pretty much the same as the full set only with copious examples and background elided--the "guts" are all there.
For usage, there are four classic references. Probably the most useful is Wilson Follett's Modern American Usage, but avoid like the plague the "updated" version revised by Erik Wensberg. Used copies of the original hardcover can be had from under $4 shipped. Another goodie here is Ted Bernstein's manual The Careful Writer: it also is available for under $4 shipped. Another great standard is Fowler's Modern English Usage, the granddaddy of all usage manuals; but it is vital to get only the original 1st edition (widely available new or used in very inexpensive paperback form). Later "improvers" largely tore about and generally raped the original. Finally, there is the newest of the lot, Bryan Garner's Dictionary of Modern American Usage; being newer, it is not as inexpensive as the others, but can be had for under $10 shipped (but make sure you're not looking at his dictionary of legal usage, a wholly separate work).
That lot will cover all the "mechanical" aspects of writing. Even though each is intended as a reference book--look up a given particular point when it puzzles you--for each except the actual dictionary it will repay the writer, new or experienced, to sit down and actually read it through cover to cover. You may be amazed at the matters you never before considered.
When it comes to matters of general prose styling--the difference between clunky and elegant--there are several more works worth reviewing. At the fairly basic level, there are Jacques Barzun's Simple & Direct and Sir Ernest Gowers' Plain Words (originally in two volumes, now widely avaialbe in a single one, usually with the word "Complete" in the title); again, each is available used at very moderate cost, and each is a good friend to the beginning writer. At a distinctly higher level is the classic English Prose Style by Herbert Read (author of the fantasy novel The Green Child). It is replete with extended examples of what its title describes, and no writer with serious intentions should be ignorant of it.
Turning more particularly to fantastic fiction, your first stop should be the web site of the SFWA (http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/information-center/) (Science-Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America); and that is triply so if you are planning to write for commercial publication. The number of pitfalls--and outright scams--lurking in wait for the prospective specfic writer are legion. Follow out every link they offer, and read them all with care.
Beyond that, Google Is Your Friend (http://www.google.com/search?q=writing+fantasy+OR+"science+fiction), but . . . don't assume everything you read is good advice, even if it comes from what seems a reputable source (such as a published author).
(Finally, there are a few thoughts (http://greatsfandf.com/apologia.php) of my own that--though aimed at readers--some developing writers have told me they found useful.)