Customer Reviews

Mother Miller's How to Write Good Book

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a MUST for writers. Helpful hints on grammar, puncutation, sentence structure, storytelling, etc.

I don't own this book, but on the recommendation of a local author I checked a copy out from our library and read it.

The book takes a broad approach to writing fiction--that is it covers a little bit of everything, but not in a lot of depth. There are a few things she touches on that I haven't seen covered in other writing books, but if you already have a shelf-full of books on the craft of creating fiction, you probably don't also need this. On the other hand, this would make a fine first book for any would-be author.

Her advice is solid and the only thing I didn't agree with is her insistence that proper professional manuscript format requires that you put two spaces between sentences. The "two space" rule is a pet peeve of mine: I feel it is an throwback to the time when Underwood was king of the typewriters, but that's just me.

The advice in this book is breezy and light. It's easy to read and understand, and one may flip through the book and read bits here and there at random. She covers everything from character creation, world building, and plotting; to dialog, scene construction, and common grammar problems; through to editing and polishing your manuscript.

This would be an excellent book for a parent to buy for any child who shows promise in creative writing, but you don't need to be a child to get something out of it. I'm in my 50s and I learned a few things--even after reading and digesting Stein, Maass, Swain, Browne & King, Collins, Vogler, McCutcheon, and Ingermanson.

If you want a good companion book to "Elements of Style", this is it. Sasha provides sound, straightforward advice about writing, along with good technical expertise. She highlights many pitfalls and stumbling blocks that many new writers might encounter, then tells the reader what to do about them. Recommended!

You just have to ask yourself -- on what basis does Ms. Miller write a "guide to writing" when she has one (count 'em, ONE) novel to her credit? The (very few) other titles in her ouvre wer co-written with a REAL writer, Andre Norton.