Saturday, June 9, 2007
Read Before You Write
I wish I had read Francine Prose's book "Reading Like a Writer" years ago. The academic-sounding title belies an interesting read. This book is targeted to literature fans who wish to write more effectively. Francine Prose is an accomplished writer and has taught literature at major universities including Harvard and Columbia.
Prose begins with the simple idea that in order to be a better writer, study the giants of literature. She continues by emphasizes the importance of reading carefully when reading work by our greatest writers: Hemmingway, Dostoyevsky, Kafka and her favorite Chekhov to name a few. The first three chapters are entitled "Words", "Sentences", and "Paragraphs". She provides examples of how the use of each word, sentence, and paragraph differentiates a classic from the merely well-written. The impact that this granular approach to reading makes is profound. Composing a sentence for any written communication takes on new meaning. I find myself scrutinizing my writing more carefully after reading this book. I am inspired to read from her suggested books list in order to study these masterpieces using her unique reading process. "Reading Like a Writer" is an excellent guide to reading critically, and in turn writing more effectively.
I wish I had read Francine Prose's book "Reading Like a Writer" years ago. The academic-sounding title belies an interesting read. This book is targeted to literature fans who wish to write more effectively. Francine Prose is an accomplished writer and has taught literature at major universities including Harvard and Columbia.
Prose begins with the simple idea that in order to be a better writer, study the giants of literature. She continues by emphasizes the importance of reading carefully when reading work by our greatest writers: Hemmingway, Dostoyevsky, Kafka and her favorite Chekhov to name a few. The first three chapters are entitled "Words", "Sentences", and "Paragraphs". She provides examples of how the use of each word, sentence, and paragraph differentiates a classic from the merely well-written. The impact that this granular approach to reading makes is profound. Composing a sentence for any written communication takes on new meaning. I find myself scrutinizing my writing more carefully after reading this book. I am inspired to read from her suggested books list in order to study these masterpieces using her unique reading process. "Reading Like a Writer" is an excellent guide to reading critically, and in turn writing more effectively.
Labels: francine prose, literature, reading like a writer
¶ 9:57 PM
