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- Keys To Great Writing Reviewed By Norm Goldman of Bookpleasures.com
Keys To Great Writing Reviewed By Norm Goldman of Bookpleasures.com
- By Norm Goldman
- Published August 13, 2014
- GENERAL NON-FICTION REVIEWS
Norm Goldman
Reviewer & Author Interviewer, Norm Goldman. Norm is the Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com.
He has been reviewing books for the past twenty years after retiring from the legal profession.
To read more about Norm Follow Here
ISBN: 978-1-58297-492-7
A writer’s tool kit should include a good
dictionary, a thesaurus, a style manual, and a copy of Stephen
Wilbers excellent book, Keys to Great Writing.
Wilbers
credentials are impressive. He is a former Fulbright scholar,
syndicated columnist, adjunct professor and writing consultant,
author of a few books on writing. In 1995, he won the Outstanding
Faculty Award at Hamline University’s graduate studies program. Since 1991, he has written a weekly column on effective writing, which appears in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and other newspapers.
What are the keys to great writing? Wilbers informs us his
students always want to know how to make their writing vivid and
memorable. How can they set themselves apart from other writers?
How can they convey their personalities, points of views and
values? How do they learn to write with a distinct style?
These
are the principle themes of Wilbers’ book that walks us through
in a such a manner that readers have the impression that they are attending
a comprehensive writer’s workshop.
The first part deals
with five keys of how to write: economy of expression, precision,
action, music and personality. The second part deals with five
elements of composition that have more to do with the “what”
of writing rather than the “how.” These are broken down into
purpose, point of view, organization, support and
coherence.
Although some of the material may be familiar
from our school days, it is the author’s easy- to-understand
approach that keeps the reader wanting to turn the pages and learn
more.
For example, learning the rules of English grammar was
not exactly an exciting subject matter during our pre-college
days.
Did we ever relate grammar to music? Wilbers points out
“the written word is only a representation of our spoken,
natural language, which is based not on the letters of the
alphabet but on sound expression, and the “sounding” of words
that we do in our heads as we write and read is a poor substitute
for actually speaking and hearing them.”
When we speak we can
sound happy, angry, worried or upset. If we learn how to use
grammar and punctuation effectively, we can make our writing
pleasing to the ear and convincing.
Novice as well as
experienced writers will find this guide an excellent reference to
be continuously consulted, particularly that the author has
included in his appendix a step- by -step resumé of the keys.
As
Wilbers mentions in his introduction, “Learn the five keys to
great writing. Understand the five elements of composition.
Practice the techniques relating to both. Do these things, and
you’ll be on your way.”