Boooks About Writing
The 10% Solution, Writing the Other: Must-Have Books For SF Writers
Mar 2, 2006
I picked up a couple of books recently that are useful additions to my shelf. The first is <U>The 10% Solution: Self Editing for the Modern Writer</u>, by Ken Rand, from Fairwood Press. This slim, spare volume talks about ways to sort out editing and writing, and provides an approach for trimming out prose. I had heard this book mentioned in a writing panel last fall, and was delighted to find it on the Fairwood Press Table. Words that Rand watches for in order to spot places where prose can be trimmed include: of, -ing, -ion, three syllable words, contractions, was and were, commas, lists, quotes, titles, adverbs, and said.
I have seen very few pieces in my time that can't benefit from a trimming of at least ten percent -- and sometimes more. Highly recommended as something to read and then keep close and apply.
Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward's <u>Writing the Other: A Practical Approach</u>, from Aqueduct Press, is similarly spare, but provides useful tools for helping the writer recognize the position from which they write, and how what they (or a character) notice conveys information about that position. Includes some useful writing exercises, a few of which require a partner, so this would be a good book for a club or writing exchange.
