Have you read that Angelina Jolie is a “serial adopter?” (Yes, I do read the gossip column in the Oregonian.) Serial adopter. What a horrible term. It insults everyone involved. I keep meaning to write a letter to the editor about it.
Recently I’ve come to the realization that I’m, honestly, a "serial" sort of person. A serial borrower—book borrower from Multnomah County Library. I read a review—I put the book on hold. Pretty soon I have 20, maybe 30 books checked out. Some of the books I read, some of them I skim, some of them I just hope to get back before the due date. (I’m also a serial renew-er.)
Right now I’m reading two books from the library on writing that I'm reading every word of. One, Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively, by Rebecca McClanahan, is my current couch book. I read my “couch book” when I have a few minutes before I need to meet the school bus or leave to pick up one of my daughter’s from soccer practice. Or if I need a break from writing—or housework (yes, always!). “Good description begins with observation,” McClanahan writes. Then she shows the reader how to see, how to organize the details, and how to bring writing to life. She adds examples of good description from fiction, prose, and poetry.
My “car book" (soccer practice runs late, I get to French class early, etc.) right now is Between the Lines by Jessica Page Morrell. All I can say is that I wish I had read this book in 2001 when I was writing my first novel. Oops! Between the Lines wasn’t published until 2006. I have a good excuse.
If you are working on a novel, get this book. I have learned something new on every page. I’m going to buy my own copy so that I can mark it up and dog ear the pages, and read it again and again. It’s that good.
Happy writing!
Recent Comments