by Laura Brown
W.W. Norton 2014
596 p.
Non-fiction
The Shortlist
Where was How to Write Anything when I was getting started as a
self-taught freelance writer and editor? I had to purchase books on writing
resumes, white papers, and research reports. In one volume, Brown has given us
a guide to almost everything the average person will ever need to write. It will be an enormous help, and I am excited to include it on my shelf.
But, it is also a great guide for anyone who writes anything. Should be in most
every home.
Just think for a moment. What are the writing tasks that
confuse you the most? Resumes and cover letters, for certain, as well as business letters, email
messages, condolence letters, and college entrance essays. Brown covers them
all and much more. She includes the problems, pitfalls, and possibilities of
communicating in the 21st century, including instant messaging, emails, and
tweeting.
The book is divided in three sections: personal writing,
school writing, and professional/business writing. However, Brown recommends
the same 6 steps for each endeavor. They are:
- determine the purpose for the writing.
- determine who the audience or the readers are
- brainstorm ideas
- organize thoughts and idea
- do a final draft
- revise, revise, revise.
To that, I would add one other step. Read it aloud. Here is
what I have learned about reading something aloud. First, when you read it
aloud, you don't miss mistakes that got overlooked with the spell or grammar
checker on your word processor. Second, if you read it aloud, you will catch
run-on sentences and things that just plain sound stupid. Third, you may catch
misused words. Somehow reading a document aloud makes it sound
like a different voice than your voice. Finally, if this really is an important
document, have someone else read it aloud. They will most likely catch anything
that you may have missed.
The website for the book: http://www.howtowriteanything.com/
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