Welcome to Litsy!

Final item from my book bundle from Arabelle! Will be so interesting to read Le Guin‘s take on the writing craft.

How many books about writing can I read at once without getting confused, do you think

“Journalists and schoolteachers mean well, but they can be fatally bossy.”

I love Ursula K. Le Guin. 😆

#funny

One of the best books on writing I‘ve read yet. It‘s not a series of don‘ts or dos, but exercises in deepening and enriching your own writing in your own way. It lifted a lot of the burden off my shoulders about trying to write perfectly, and the exercises were really helpful in breaking out of my comfort zone and writing more bravely, more wildly, more enormously. Recommend.

4/5⭐ Great discussion about how to think about writing from both a writer's and reader's perspective. I definitely want to go back and actually do the exercises.

New workweek, new read. I've been a professional writer for almost a decade but there's always more to learn. #writing

What it has to do is move—end up in a different place from where it started. That's what narrative does. It goes. It moves. Story is change.

Wonderful book to finish on a rainy day. I will add it to my list of books to reread every couple of years. It is exactly what I needed to help me take my writing to the next level. I will discuss it next weekend with my writing group and look forward to deepening my understanding of prose. Must read for writers!

Used a Barnes & Noble gift card to buy some books to level up my skills! Writing skills, proofreading skills, memoir skills. 💪 It wasn‘t until I put them all together that I realized the spines have a matching B/W & red color scheme. (Design nerd alert.) And thanks @RaimeyGallant for helping me discover Steering the Craft! I‘ve been wanting to read more Ursula K. LeGuin.

Originally written in 1998 and revised more recently, though billed as an advanced fiction workshop, it's more of an insightful rehashing of familiar topics. The classic excerpts given are together a love letter to filtering, yet Le Guin makes no mention of this modern publisher pet peeve, so I caution newer authors: This shouldn't be the first writing craft book you read; save it until you can sift the cherries from the dated.

"This may well include some of your favorite, most beautiful and admirable sentences and passages. You are allowed to cry or moan softly while you cut them... Often a cut that seemed sure to leave a hole joins up without a seam. It's as if the story, the work itself, has a shape it's trying to achieve and will take that shape if you'll only clear away the verbiage."

Regarding point of view: "Use of the second person (you) in fiction is justifiably rare. Every so often somebody writes a story or novel in the second person under the impression it hasn't been done before."

I love her sarcasm.

ME: "I'd like my writing lessons with a side of sociology, please."

URSULA: "Correct usage is defined by a group of those who speak and write English a certain way, and used as a test or shibboleth to form an in-group of those who speak and write English that way and an out-group of those who don't. And guess which group has the power?"

P.S. Litsy is getting faster, but to do that, it will be down tomorrow 7-8am EST.

On improving one's writing craft: "Group criticism is great training for self-criticism." =truth!

Late night dinner with Le Guin and du Maurier. It's a first chapters kind of night.

Reinvigorating my writing with this book. The exercises are fun and useful and Le Guin was one of the greats.

I was deeply saddened to hear the news that one of the greatest literary minds of our time had passed away. In her memory, I found this interesting little section about her regarding the use of the word "their", and what it means to be politically correct, that I wanted to share with y'all

Sad news today. RIP Ursula Le Guin. NYT article: https://nyti.ms/2G7qt90 A great mind, immense talent and imagination, wonderful essayist on the art of fiction, a voice for the power of stories to help readers envision a more just world. . . Ursula Le Guin, thank you! You will be missed! 💙

I'm still working through the exercises, but Steering the Craft is one of the better books on the #writing craft that I've read. #readinglog

This is an excellent guide for advanced writers. It also includes plenty of examples as well as exercises to try your hand at at the lessons.

What I really appreciate is the book is not long-winded. Every page has a purpose.

Just started this for class. I love LeGuin so I have no doubt she has some excellent writing advice to impart.

@Waynegjr brought me a present from @RoscoeBooks and I'm all 😍😍😍 from just the first chapter.

A workbook for writers that focuses on specific elements of style. But also a great for reviewers trying to put their finger on why certain books do or don't work for them. Full review: https://goo.gl/kVkRAQ

This is supposed to be a workbook for writers, but I'm enjoying reading a great fantasy author's thoughts on writing.