The international best-seller Eats, Shoots and Leaves taught us that punctuation really does matter when creating a sentence. (And heck I'm the first to admit that I over-comma everything.)
But the correct usage of grammar is equally necessary to writing a good story.
What disappoints me with so many of the books I receive for a possible review is how few authors remember how important the written word is in telling their story. A book cannot live by plot alone, and the words used to tell the story are always more important than the story itself.
Don't believe me? Take for example some ambiguous headlines that show just how necessary it is be to carefully choose the words you use. How about "Women make the best moms" or "World War II kamikaze survivors meet?" These titles may make you chuckle, but if your novel is riddled with imprecise words it can make for a long, hard read.
Want more headlines with double meanings? Check out the Albany Times Union blog at blogs.timesunion.com
(Writing Sparks Newsletter: 2/22/08)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment