100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Mentor)
by Gary Provost
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gary ProvostEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1985-10-01
ISBN: 0451627210
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Signet
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780451627216
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Mentor)
Book Review: A Helpful Collection of Tips
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a small handbook that isn't meant to be a full-fledged text on grammar or style, but simply a good collection of tips, and throughout it all you'll find Provost's characteristic clarity and wit.
Each section is short and gets straight to the point. Provost can take something like "Show, Don't Tell," and explain it better in a page and a half than other books can in a chapter.
There's plenty of examples of each tip in use, and even in his writing itself he'll show you the difference, as this bit on sentence length: "Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony."
He also has a refreshing and practical view on grammar: "Never choose good grammar over good writing. There is nothing virtuous about good grammar that does not work."
The book gives examples from everything from Hemingway, The Stepford Wives, and The Boston Globe, and while Provost's tips focus mostly on non-fiction, they can just as easily be applied to fiction. Also, while the book is from 1981, it's not dated except in the mention of typewriters.
In Provost's own words, this book is "about what writing techniques work best, which patterns of language most successfully reach and hold readers." And that's just you'll find.
Summary of 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Mentor)
This is the one guide that anyone who writes--whether student, business person, or professional writer--should put on the desk beside pencil, pen, typewriter, or word processor. Filled with professional tips and a wealth of instructive examples, this valuable, easy-to-use handbook can help you solve any and all writing problems.
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