How To Write Books.

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I own just about every HOW TO WRITE book there is, and I cant name one of them thats worth a crap, much less its price. Bestseller authors seem incompetent at transferring knowledge about writing, from their noggins to yours.

Do this: If you wanna GET dialogue writing read an old novel by George V.Higgins, COGANS TRADE is excellent. Stellar writers like Elmore Leonard freely admit that Higgins' books taught them how to write, even after they had plenty of best-sellers in the bag.

Wanna REALLY get description? Read Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy's description drags you into the story like you lassooed a deranged bull inside Tiffanys. His BLOOD MERIDIAN can teach Stephen King how to write horror, Harold Bloome sez it cant be bested and confesses it took him 3 tries to wade thru the gore. You KNOW youre in a bad place when you pass a dead tree, beside the city gate, filled with dead babies twisting in the wind. McCarthy also does 'showing' better than any writer I know of.

Wanna learn how to condense your prose tighter than Chaz Bozo's ass? Read plenty of good poetry and practice writing good poetry.

 

[nakdsub]

Most people don't know...

but Sterling Hayden, the actor, was also one hell of a writer. He wrote tow books and I would recommend either one of them.

The first sentence from his book, "Voyage," is below.

"Low in the east spread an ivory fan, and the moon's bleached skull peeked from the rim of the sea."

 

[latinplayer]

Followed you from the Pennlady thread.

After reading your suggestions, I looked up McCarthy in my digital library. The only book I have by him is The Road. I hope that's comparable to Blood Meridian, and I've marked it on my to-read list!

Thanks.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Followed you from the Pennlady thread.

After reading your suggestions, I looked up McCarthy in my digital library. The only book I have by him is The Road. I hope that's comparable to Blood Meridian, and I've marked it on my to-read list!

Thanks.

I dont care for THE ROAD. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and BLOOD MERIDIAN are his best efforts.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Followed you from the Pennlady thread.

After reading your suggestions, I looked up McCarthy in my digital library. The only book I have by him is The Road. I hope that's comparable to Blood Meridian, and I've marked it on my to-read list!

Thanks.

I cant think of any book thats comparable to BLOOD MERIDIAN. It does seem to be as far as you can go with horror and bad taste. But well written!

 

[sr71plt]

I own just about every HOW TO WRITE book there is, and I cant name one of them thats worth a crap, much less its price.

But you keep buying them? Empty shelves you want to fill, or have you just not gotten clued into a really "duh" activity yet?

The only one of them I own is King's On Wrting, but I didn't buy that for advice on how/what to write.