Paula Cappa's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-books"
Need help steering your craft of fiction?
As writing craft books go, Ursula Le Guin's "Steering the Craft, A 21st-Century to Sailing the Sea of Story" is one you will want to have on your shelf. Check out my book review.
https://paulacappa.wordpress.com/2016...
https://paulacappa.wordpress.com/2016...
Are you an Author in Progress?
Book Review: Author In Progress, a No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published.
Here are 50 essays on writing, publishing, and struggling through the journey of being a writer. Success tips everywhere!
Book Review of this writing book:
https://paulacappa.wordpress.com/2016...
Here are 50 essays on writing, publishing, and struggling through the journey of being a writer. Success tips everywhere!
Book Review of this writing book:
https://paulacappa.wordpress.com/2016...
Book Review: Writing Subtext by Linda Seger
Book Review: Writing Subtext by Dr. Linda Seger
While there is quite a lot in this book in helping writers to understand the mechanics of subtext (not just the meanings beneath the words but what informs the text i.e. the implicit meaning), most of this book focuses on subtext from films: Double Indemnity, The Big Short, Cheers, Ordinary People, etc. So if you are a screen writer or playwright, I think you’ll be happy to learn about the uses and methods on how subtext motivates, communicates, and can present scene conflict and tension. I’m a writer of novels and short stories so I was disappointed, expecting this book to also address novel writing. It doesn’t. But there is a lot here to get you thinking and examining about character motivation and plot driven stories. Seger says, “subtext makes us ask why.” I did like how she explains the psychology beneath subtext, what’s true, what’s evasive, certainty vs. uncertainty, conscious and subconscious subtext. Very helpful.
Writing Subtext: What Lies Beneath
While there is quite a lot in this book in helping writers to understand the mechanics of subtext (not just the meanings beneath the words but what informs the text i.e. the implicit meaning), most of this book focuses on subtext from films: Double Indemnity, The Big Short, Cheers, Ordinary People, etc. So if you are a screen writer or playwright, I think you’ll be happy to learn about the uses and methods on how subtext motivates, communicates, and can present scene conflict and tension. I’m a writer of novels and short stories so I was disappointed, expecting this book to also address novel writing. It doesn’t. But there is a lot here to get you thinking and examining about character motivation and plot driven stories. Seger says, “subtext makes us ask why.” I did like how she explains the psychology beneath subtext, what’s true, what’s evasive, certainty vs. uncertainty, conscious and subconscious subtext. Very helpful.
Writing Subtext: What Lies Beneath
BOOK REVIEW: The Emotion Thesaurus, Writer's Guide to Character Expression
BOOK REVIEW: The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Emotion vs. feeling. As writers of fiction, we need to understand the difference when creating character expression on the page. In Ackerman and Puglisi's second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus, they address the power of emotion in fiction. The whole point of the book is that 'readers don't want to be told how a character feels; they want to experience the emotion for themselves.' This book is a great addition to any writer’s resource library. It's a how-to and in-depth book on how writers can craft emotion on the page. The advice here is professional and precise, easy to follow, and explores some 130 emotions. For example, for the emotion of dread, they list all the physical signals and behaviors, internal sensations, mental responses, acute or long-term responses, signs of suppression, escalation, de-escalation, and associated power verbs. The authors cover dialogue, vocal cues, body language, thoughts, visceral reactions, backstory, emotional wounds, and subtext. I have other thesauruses by Ackerman and Puglisi, but this one is really their finest. I prefer the print version to the Kindle because it's great to have the book open on my desk for a wide view of the lists to jump-start me in exploring character motivation/reaction to discover the precise behavior that fits. Highly Recommended!
https://paulacappa.wordpress.com/2019...
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression
Emotion vs. feeling. As writers of fiction, we need to understand the difference when creating character expression on the page. In Ackerman and Puglisi's second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus, they address the power of emotion in fiction. The whole point of the book is that 'readers don't want to be told how a character feels; they want to experience the emotion for themselves.' This book is a great addition to any writer’s resource library. It's a how-to and in-depth book on how writers can craft emotion on the page. The advice here is professional and precise, easy to follow, and explores some 130 emotions. For example, for the emotion of dread, they list all the physical signals and behaviors, internal sensations, mental responses, acute or long-term responses, signs of suppression, escalation, de-escalation, and associated power verbs. The authors cover dialogue, vocal cues, body language, thoughts, visceral reactions, backstory, emotional wounds, and subtext. I have other thesauruses by Ackerman and Puglisi, but this one is really their finest. I prefer the print version to the Kindle because it's great to have the book open on my desk for a wide view of the lists to jump-start me in exploring character motivation/reaction to discover the precise behavior that fits. Highly Recommended!
https://paulacappa.wordpress.com/2019...
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression
