Catch Hold Of When Good People Write Bad Sentences: 12 Steps To Better Writing Habits Illustrated By Robert W. Harris Ready In Copy

book contains helpful tips on how to develop better writing habits, I will likely keep it in my library for future reference,

While I have come to appreciate the subgenre of humorous grammar books, I did not find the 'step program' approach of this book to be humorous or very helpful.
Healed my inner child writer, Some useful tips in this book but I could have lived without all thestep program references and satire, but I guess one needs some kind of gimmick to set their writer's craft book apart from all the other ones.
I mainly skipped over those parts and got right to the information I needed,

The author also lost me when he suggested one use italics to get points across, That is no longer done in writing, Also, some of this book addresses business writing rather than creative writing, so I think the author should have set those two apart because one has little to do with the other.
Good over all though. Overview

This one was an absolute pleasure to read, I might not end up actually keeping it, but it was fun and it taught its lessons with humor and grace, Just what I want in a grammar book!

The Good

It treats bad grammar and unclear writing like an addiction, one that we all fall prey to, and one that we can spend a lifetime recovering from.
The steps read like Alcoholics Anonymous, and it made me giggle while I was reading, I'd never thought I'd do that with a grammar book, Plus, each individual lesson is such a small tidbit of information that it seems perfectly reasonable to learn it, incorporate it, and move on.


Plus, in explaining all the rules, Harris gives examples that incorporate the mistakes that he wants you to learn from, When you find those mistakes, you feel so good! And don't worry, if you can't find the mistakes he does tell you what the mistakes were at the end of the chapter.


The NotSoGood

Not so much bad as just not as great as the rest of the book, Harris has some "testimonials" from "real life" malescribes the word he uses for badgrammaraddicted people, While they follow the theme of thestep program of the book, I was pretty tired of them by the time I reached the second one.


Fortunately, there are very few of these fake testimonials, I'm not sure they are fake, but that would seem to be in the spirit of the book! Ad they are usually offset by margins and italics, so they are easy to skip.
Bad reader, I know, I shouldn't skip anything when reviewing a book, Oh, well.

The Brilliant

Now back to the good stuff, When this book tells you a problem that needs fixing, it doesn't just give one or two examples of that problem, A lot of the advice in this book is about lists of words, phrases and clichés that you should cut out of your writing.


Not only does Harris, at multiple times in the book, give you those list, he pairs it usually with a list of fixes for that overused word or phrase! This is the reason I might end up keeping this book, because of those lists.
It's nice to have something at my fingertips, so that I don't get lost on the internet trying to find one thing and dropping into the rabbithole of Wiki.


On the other hand, I have already bookmarked several pages that have such lists, and corrections for them,

The Verdict: I'm still up in the air, "Did you hear about the guy who worried so much about punctuation that he developed digestive problems He had an operation and wound up with a semicolon.
"

It never hurts to fine tune your writing or to remind yourself of common habits that make writing boring, unclear, onerous, or just wrong.
Robert Harris does that in this book, and he does so in a manner that is concise and clear, and much like the joke quoted above, sometimes funny, or partly funny.


Some may criticize the content of the book as pedantic and the stuff of elitism, But, the beauty of this book is that Harris, like Mary Norris, the Comma Queen, reminds us that even when we enjoy writing so do, many don't or won't, we are writing for others and that there are conventions that make it easier for others to read what we write.
The more conscious we are as writers, the more our readers benefit from betterorganized thinking and clearer presentations, Don't we owe those we expect to read what we write that consideration Don't we expect those who actually read what we write not to give up in frustration because we've presented a disorganized shambles, or make so many unedited mistakes that reading it becomes frustrating and pointless

As a lawyer, I have written every day some decision, correspondences, legal briefs of massive lengths andparagraph summaries, reviews of rules and statutes, settlement proposals, and various other communications designed to communicate an idea or ideas that I believe out to receive some attention.
I have done for more thanyears, and, in that time, have had the pleasure of having to read written work produced by the efforts of others.
Lawyers' writing tends toward a natural clumsiness and density, but good writing by lawyers is a joy to read, as is good writing anywhere.
Good writing, in my view, shows respect for the reader, one's common language, and the art of communication, Even writing where writing displays "culture talk" and difficult to read, it is a joy to read when it done artfully and with a glance to the rules which organize it.


Some might argue that, in a world of Twitter, email, and any other form of communication that doesn't involve deep thought or complex, nuanced ideas, any instruction about how to become a better writer is a sign of elitists trying to dictate normative speech throughout society.
I remember the vitriol slung at Mary Norris when her book explaining why proper grammar shouldn't be ignored was published, Some reviled her as elitist, even though the book was charming and funny, much like Harris, who addresses us as "malascribes" and even gives us astep recovery program with Malascribe Bill of Rights to help us sort out our bad writing habits, lead us out of denial of our bad habits, and lead us into the clear air and bright skies of good writing.


Each of us pays a form of patriotic homage to ourselves and our diverse cultures when we strive to write well and improve our writing as a sign of respect to those we want or expect to read our work.

It also never hurts to be reminded of the differences in meaning and usage of "discreet" and "discrete", or "biannual" contrasted with "semiannual", or the meaninglessness of using "etc.
" as a substitute for what we really want to identify, To be honest, I still have to seek a definition of discreet and discrete each time I want to apply the appropriate to my meaning, but the reminder to be careful is useful.


The book is concise, funny in a corny and nonthreatening way, and pretty easy to read, If I can recommend only one book on the craft of writing, this is it, Wherever you use English school reports, blogs, business proposals, or novels this book can help you do so more effectively, more efficiently and more enjoyably.


Most books on writing just lay down the law, Robert W. Harris doesn't make that mistake, From the outset, he acknowledges that bad writing is an addiction an ism that is given to misdirect your pen, We are gripped by malescribism! This book is a treatment plan for recovery, . .

More at sitelink blogspot. com At last, help for writers who can admit they have a problem,

Do you get a lift by dangling a participle Has your punctuation ever caused difficulties at home or at work Do you consider yourself just a "social misspeller"

These are just a few of the warning signs that you might have an addiction to bad writing.
But fear not. This practical guide to eliminating bad writing habits will put you on the path to recovery, Filled with accessible advice and examples, this "powerfulstep program" identifies the most common writing mistakes and offers simple ways to correct them, Here, you can learn to overcome wordiness, formality, incompleteness, and other problems that stand in the way of clear communication, And as you learn to eliminate ineffective sentences, you'll be "writing off" jargon, mixed metaphors, clichés, and more,

The advice in this ingenious and useful book has helped Tom G, Martha D. , and Cathy W. write more clearly, confidently, and persuasively, It can do the same for you whether you write for school, work, or pleasure, If you've tried other programs, only to fall back on bad habits, let Standard English

be your guide, This book will show you how,

Get ready to improve your writing skills one sentence at a time,

their real names Librarian Note:There is than one author in the Goodreads database with this name, Robert W. Harris earned degrees in art and cognitive psychology and then worked as a teacher for ten years, Since, he has authored a dozen books, including When Good People Write Bad Sentences St, Martins Press. .