How did you decide on the Writing books? It sounds like these are more memoirs than manuals such as LeGuin's Steering the Craft of Fiction or Fish's How to Write a Sentence, both of which I recommend, especially the latter. After all we all know of musicians that practice a wide range of things from scales to various songs. Likewise, artists are always making sketches, thumbnails, working on their anatomy, but when was the last time you heard about a writer practicing their sentences. I'm not talking about rewriting, but just building & refining the elements of one's craft?
Thank you for your thoughts! The pieces on writing are definitely more memoir than manual, which I chose mostly because I think the “why” might be easier to discuss in this format than the “how,” at least for now. That said, I’d love to incorporate more craft talk in the future, I’m just not yet sure how best to do it! (Maybe serialized writing groups? Walkthroughs/reviews? Always open to suggestions!) You’re absolutely right that there’s little attention paid to a writer’s practice, as if writers are divinely inspired and don’t need to practice. Whenever I do bring more craft talk to the ‘stack, Fish’s How to Write a Sentence will likely be the first book! It really is a great one :)
Thanks for the mention, Jo! I'm honoured to have inspired anything that involves more reading and studying of great writers :)
very cool of you to have not-yet subscribers vote this round. ty🫶
You’re welcome, and thank you! I’m trying hard to find the balance 😊
How did you decide on the Writing books? It sounds like these are more memoirs than manuals such as LeGuin's Steering the Craft of Fiction or Fish's How to Write a Sentence, both of which I recommend, especially the latter. After all we all know of musicians that practice a wide range of things from scales to various songs. Likewise, artists are always making sketches, thumbnails, working on their anatomy, but when was the last time you heard about a writer practicing their sentences. I'm not talking about rewriting, but just building & refining the elements of one's craft?
Thank you for your thoughts! The pieces on writing are definitely more memoir than manual, which I chose mostly because I think the “why” might be easier to discuss in this format than the “how,” at least for now. That said, I’d love to incorporate more craft talk in the future, I’m just not yet sure how best to do it! (Maybe serialized writing groups? Walkthroughs/reviews? Always open to suggestions!) You’re absolutely right that there’s little attention paid to a writer’s practice, as if writers are divinely inspired and don’t need to practice. Whenever I do bring more craft talk to the ‘stack, Fish’s How to Write a Sentence will likely be the first book! It really is a great one :)