Book Review: Words Fail Me
What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing
A great resource for new and veteran writers to sharpen their basic tools and sense of style.
Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing by Patricia C. O’Conner
There are books about grammar and books about punctuation. Famous writers Somerset Maugham and Stephen King among others, have written on the philosophy of writing. So what should the fledgling writer choose to help get started?
“Words Fail Me,” by former New York Review of Books editor Patricia O’Conner, wraps everything up in a nice little package, laced with a sense of humor. O’Conner is at your side to help you write your first novel or bang out a college essay. She doesn’t tell you that you need talent or a way with words to get the job done. She just gives you the tools to do it.
With a large dose of common sense, O’Conner starts by making you aware that the goal of good writing is to reach the reader. She helps you define your audience and get organized. Then, in chapters titled, “Hold the Baloney,” “Verbs that Zing,” and “Thinking in Paragraphs,” she takes your hand and explains style, grammar and punctuation. And as you go along, you become aware of her own writing skills.
For example, her chapter on controlling paragraphs begins: “The great saxophonist John Coltrane was troubled because his solos were running way too long. He couldn’t figure out how to end his improvisations. His friend Miles Davis had a suggestion. ‘John,’ he said, “put the horn down.’
Some writers have the same problem.”
How many English teachers have told students “show, don’t tell” when they are writing. O’Conner gives you illustrations so you understand exactly what she is speaking about. She tackles every aspect of the writer’s trade from writing humor and emotion to getting around the dreaded writer’s block.
But it’s worth buying the book just for its chapter on revision. Revision seems to be the biggest stumbling block for inexperienced writers. They’ve gone through all the angst of getting the words down on the page. Now, they just want to turn it in or send it out.
Instead, O’Conner points out, it’s time to revise, revise, revise.
“The cruel reality of revision,” she writes, “is that you sometimes have to dump what you love most.” It’s a hard lesson to learn, but there isn’t a professional writer on the planet who hasn’t had to face that decision.
This is a book to read and reread whenever your writing needs a jump-start.
And, every writer will agree with her final zinger. “Writing can be a lot of fun. Nothing beats the feeling you get when you’re writing something good—except the feeling you get when you’re finished.”
