< back
to full review list
< back
to academic authors review list
< back
to textbook authors review list
William A. Gordon
The Quotable Writer
Most folks like
to read about themselves. So a collection of quotes by and about writers
is bound to give warm fuzzies to other writers, even if some of the
quotes are cutting and satiric. Those would be aimed at those other
writers, of course. On this basis, The Quotable Writer would
make an acceptable gift for any writer, whether of prose or poetry,
news or novels, textbooks or fantasies. Besides, a writer can only use
so many pen sets, paperweights, and briefcases.
If you are writing
about writing, this book may be just the reference you need to find
that perfect quote to highlight your point. It's only 173 pages with
about 1000 quotes, but they are all about writing in one way or another.
In The Quotable
Writer you will find quotes that make you as a writer proud, ashamed,
encouraged, frustrated and generally fascinated by what writers say
about their craft, their colleagues, and their publishers.
The quotes come
from the famous and the unknown, from writers, critics, publishers,
and others who were famous enough in some respect to get quoted in print.
Quotes are grouped in categories like biography, critics, and how to
get published. You can find a topic to suit your mood or the need of
the moment. Feel like quitting? Try "Success and Failure" for encouraging
words like: "You only fail if you stop writing." That's from novelist
Ray Bradbury, quoted in The Writer's Digest Guide to Good Writing (1994). Feeling frustrated at what "those people" in editing did to
your already perfect text? Misery loves company, so take a peek at the
"Editors" section for quotes like: "No passion on earth, neither love,
nor hate, is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft." That's
from H.G. Wells, quoted in How to Enjoy Writing by Janet Isamov
and Isaac Isamov (1987).
As a how-to guide
for writing, The Quotable Writer falls far short. But it does
contain many helpful and encouraging thoughts, suitable for posting
on your refrigerator or mirror for that daily "Why am I doing this?"
session.
Review by
Jan Smith
Jan Smith is a former mathematics and computer literacy teacher. She
writes and manages a web site which includes a computer literacy course.
William A. Gordon. The Quotable Writer.
McGraw-Hill: Xxxx, 2000.
$14.95 pages (soft). ISBN: 0-07-135576-6. Web
site
|
