Customer Reviews

Starting from Scratch

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is an excellent writer's manual in many ways--I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on reading classics for "what works," the reasoning behind why a writer should know Latin, among others--even while it is totally inappropriate in others--things such as the unrealistic expectations based on Brown's own successes and her failure to understand genres, especially science fiction, fantasy and mystery. Still, the annotated reading list in the back is amazing for the simple fact that you have a hard time imagining that one person could read all of it, and yet it challenges you to give it a go.
(This "review" originally appeared in First Impressions Installment One [http://www.owt.com/users/gcox/fi.contents.html].)

Starting From Scratch will have you laughing and crying your way to the end. This is how it really is; from publishers to editors to rejections to how to pay the rent. Rita Mae Brown writes one of the best books on the writing life I've ever come across.

"If you can tolerate my temperament you'll probably enjoy the writer's manual". In Starting From Scratch, author Rita Mae Brown includes tons of personal information and a lot of valuable writing advice.
From early childhood Brown had a desire to be a writer. "It never occurred to me to be anything else". Brown's manual opens with a summary of here early years and a basic beginning to her writing career. Brown includes discussion of her struggles as a writer. She includes sleep tactics, proper eating instructions and a few pages denouncing drinking and drugs of any form. "It should be obvious to you that you must learn Latin". Brown discusses the importance and impact Latin has had on evolving our language. Brown gives brief summaries of her income from her writing career, she adds input on writing magazine articles, non-fiction, short stories, play productions and screenplays. Brown closes with an 18 page reading list. "This is prepared from a writer's point of view".

I was pleased with the approach Brown took throughout her book. She had a clear avenue of thought, but absolutely no sequential order. Brown shares a lot of personal information, and many insightful points about the writing profession. An interesting book and enjoyable read. Definitely a different kind of writers manual.

The author comes across as arrogant and condescending most of the time. I'd recommend skipping Parts I and II altogether, where she brags about herself then lays down all sorts of "musts" if you want to be a "real" writer. Writers have an amazing talent for procrastinating: I must clean the entire house-, I must paint the bedroom-, I must find a new job before I can start writing. Brown's "Must study Latin first" rule discussed by others above strikes me as a colossal example for this. I'm sure studying Latin is one of many effective ways to improve your craft, but to insist writers should not even put pen to paper until those two years of study are complete seems the height of lunacy.

Authors interested in writing mystery, fantasy, horror, SF, etc, will likely be put off by her repeated declaration that genre fiction is on the far edges of the distant suburbs of fiction, and none of her rules apply to it because it isn't real writing.

Part IV - a whip around of the peculiarities of writing different forms and in different media (television and film scripts, magazine articles, plays, etc - is of minor interest, short stories are blown off altogether.

Part V, her curriculum for a writers conservatory, would be better shared with an academic journal.

Part VI, her 30+ page reading list of critical works of fiction through the ages, starting in 665 AD, feels like it's pulled from a doctoral dissertation.

It's an interesting list, and contains many excellent works of genre: The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales (Modern Library Classics), The Complete Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Dracula (Signet Classics), the poems of Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (Modern Library Classics), Riders of the Purple Sage (Leisure Historical Fiction), Tarzan of the Apes_, Agatha Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles: A Hercule Poirot Mystery, The Thin Man, and many others, rather belies her claim that genre fiction isn't worthy of anyone's time. Reading it in chronological order, as she insists must be done, would likely show some interesting developments in the field over time, but again, that strikes me as a doctoral dissertation requirement. There is value in reading some or all of these books, in whatever order the reader prefers.

If I were to recommend this book to anyone, it would be for Part III: The Work, where Brown focuses on language. There is much that is interesting here, especially the section where she explores vocabulary and the difference in intent and power between synonyms that derived from Old English/Anglo-Saxon (more powerful, language of the common people) versus Latin/French (more formal, language of the rulers and rich).

For example: woman vs female, lonely vs solitary, help vs aid, feed vs nourish.

The section on verbs, and the power of the passive voice when used *appropriately* was quite interesting.

My favorite part of this book is the author's suggested path of study in her Literary Conservatory chapter, which presents a four-year writer's curriculum (nothing like this was offered at any university at the time this book was published in the mid-1980's). To help writers study their craft, accompanying the writer's curriculum is a huge suggested reading list, meant to be read in order (from the oldest works of antiquity to newer works up until about 1980). I'd love to see the author expand on her idea of the Literary Conservatory and write a sequel to this book. It'd make a great independent study option for those who are unable to enroll in a formal college literary writing program, but who would still like to pursue a formal course of study designed just for hopeful would-be authors.

Rita Mae Brown pulls no punches in her introduction. Even if you don't like her book, you'll have learned something about what you don't like "and that's a gift of sorts." Luckily, I enjoyed "Starting From Scratch" immensely, although I would have to quibble about the necessity of reading the lengthy book list at the back, and learning Latin (although I have taken it in high school).

Anyway, the book is divided into roughly three sections. First, is Brown's autobiographical sketch. (She's one of the few writers who don't appear to blame their parents for their current miseries.) Second, is the nuts and bolts of writing, and finally, the topics like finding an agent and writing for TV, etc.

What makes this book different from other writing guides is that Brown frankly addresses the problem (and prevalence) of substance abuse with writers. While I shouldn't quote her directly on the topic, it's clear that she has ample scorn for writers who try to live up to the stereotype of the heavy drinker/drugger. She also addresses the need to take care of one's body nutrition and exercise-wise, which is pretty hard to argue with.

Her writing is pithy and makes even grammar lessons hold your interest. Worth a read.

As usual, enjoyable writing from this tireless author. Good book for ingenue as well as mature reader/writer.

I really enjoyed this book. The sections on manipulating English alone is worth the price. I don't know latin and I'm barely familiar with old English, but I've dabbled in German, Dutch, French and Italian so I hope this is enough. I think the jist is that Romance and Germanic languages have both strengths and weaknesses, and since English is a fusion of these two families you can cherry pick your words from either.

The most helpful for me was the section on irregular verbs. The chapter on the subjentive frustrated me a little. Why tease us with a tool that doesn't exist in English?

People looking for an instant writing makeover may be impatient with the relaxed conversational voice, but I found it smooth reading which contains good advice. A lot of it obvious, but how else would you know it is good advice?

This book is not for beginning writers, but it deserves a place on an advanced writer's shelf. Advice is mingled with the author's musings and probably needs a writer who's developed a finely tuned ear. Her chapter on the two Englishes is must-know advice for any writer who wants to write with subtlty, making their word choices do the heavy lifting for them. Not of the caliber of Stein On Writing (but what is?)

As Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, John Gardner's Art of Fiction and On Becoming a Novelist, Stephen King's On Writing, and many more. This book is just another hybrid memoir/advice book. Not that this is necessarily bad (nor necessarily good) but the title is definitely deceptive.

Compared to the books I just mentioned, I definitely found this one below average. The information regarding latinate vs. Anglo-Saxon words gets a bit more thorough covering than in John Gardner, which is really nice, and if I could have bought just that chapter I would have, but listening to Ms. Brown's rather annoying social opinions for the rest of the book made it just not worth it - not for this Yankee anyway.