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The Lively Art of Writing
An essential refernce for writers—both new and experienced—that will help improve your writing skills and style and help you say exactly what you want to say.
Students, teachers, businessmen, aspiring authors, and complaining consumers all have one thing in common—the need to express successfully ideas, opinions, arguments, problems, explanations, or instructions through the medium of the written word. And The Lively Art of Writing is the perfect guide to the mastery of this essential skill. It will answer all of your questions, provide you with the best techniques, and offer important information
• Choosing a subject
• Working with words
• The sound of sentences
• The power of paragraphs
• Essentials of style
• Essays, theses, and term papers
• And much, much more...
Students, teachers, businessmen, aspiring authors, and complaining consumers all have one thing in common—the need to express successfully ideas, opinions, arguments, problems, explanations, or instructions through the medium of the written word. And The Lively Art of Writing is the perfect guide to the mastery of this essential skill. It will answer all of your questions, provide you with the best techniques, and offer important information
• Choosing a subject
• Working with words
• The sound of sentences
• The power of paragraphs
• Essentials of style
• Essays, theses, and term papers
• And much, much more...
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
55 people are currently reading
729 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
March 29, 2015
Despite her content being slightly outdated, I found Payne clever and entertaining, while still informative; enjoyed reading/studying this book with my composition II class.
March 20, 2023
Probably my favorite book for teaching writing (and improving my own), even though the examples are a bit dated.
April 1, 2011
Pretty much gave this one a 5 for all of the super-stereotypically-1950s references to hot rods. And even though some its rules are dated and silly, following its general stylistic advice has certainly allowed me to make lots of teachers and professors happy over the years. However, I think it's fine to start a sentence with "however," no matter what Lucile Vaughan Payne says.
December 13, 2022
I think that this was a good guide, but it was condescending. The advice was sound, but the author was (ironically) wordy in presenting the information.
If you already know how to write a good essay, the book doesn't offer much more.
If you are not confident in your ability to write essays, it would probably be helpful.
If you already know how to write a good essay, the book doesn't offer much more.
If you are not confident in your ability to write essays, it would probably be helpful.
February 8, 2008
I stole this book from my High School english department when I was 17. Although normally I am an upstanding citizen, I have never regretted my crime. No better introduction to the essay exists.
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November 1, 2025
My Writing Commandments
1. Plan ahead. Write down your thoughts and consider how they hang together before you
begin writing.
2. Know your point. Ensure you know what you're saying so your essay doesn't wander.
3. Have one idea. Stick to one clear idea rather than attempting too much at once.
4. Construct a solid thesis. Make your primary argument explicit and have everything else
reinforce it.
5. Back up your points. Use examples, facts, or details to back up your point.
6. Show, don't tell. Use descriptions and examples so the reader can actually see what you're
trying to say.
7. Choose your words carefully. Use plain language, active verbs, and your own voice to
make your writing come alive.
8. Keep it flowing. Make sure paragraphs connect well and use good transitions to sound
better and be easier to follow.
9. Edit and revise. First drafts aren't perfect---cut, move stuff around, and fix until it works.
10. Use varied sentence lengths. Short and longer sentences create interesting writing.
11. Use parallel structure. Maintain similar ideas and lists in identical format so that it is
readable.
12. Be concise. Remove extraneous words; concise writing is more effective.
13. Strong beginning and ending. Hook and leave a mark. Start with a good hook and end
well so your essay stays in the reader's mind and makes a lasting impression
1. Plan ahead. Write down your thoughts and consider how they hang together before you
begin writing.
2. Know your point. Ensure you know what you're saying so your essay doesn't wander.
3. Have one idea. Stick to one clear idea rather than attempting too much at once.
4. Construct a solid thesis. Make your primary argument explicit and have everything else
reinforce it.
5. Back up your points. Use examples, facts, or details to back up your point.
6. Show, don't tell. Use descriptions and examples so the reader can actually see what you're
trying to say.
7. Choose your words carefully. Use plain language, active verbs, and your own voice to
make your writing come alive.
8. Keep it flowing. Make sure paragraphs connect well and use good transitions to sound
better and be easier to follow.
9. Edit and revise. First drafts aren't perfect---cut, move stuff around, and fix until it works.
10. Use varied sentence lengths. Short and longer sentences create interesting writing.
11. Use parallel structure. Maintain similar ideas and lists in identical format so that it is
readable.
12. Be concise. Remove extraneous words; concise writing is more effective.
13. Strong beginning and ending. Hook and leave a mark. Start with a good hook and end
well so your essay stays in the reader's mind and makes a lasting impression
May 7, 2024
More like a 2.5 really.
I think I would have liked this book if I had chosen to read it myself, but alas. As assigned reading, it was boring. Maybe if we'd read the whole thing and hadn't held onto it for months and months without reading it, I would have liked it more.
I think I would have liked this book if I had chosen to read it myself, but alas. As assigned reading, it was boring. Maybe if we'd read the whole thing and hadn't held onto it for months and months without reading it, I would have liked it more.
August 28, 2016
Title: The Lively Art of Writing
Author: Lucile Vaughan Payne
Pages: 288
Publisher: Published March 1st 1969 by Signet/Mentor (first published 1965)
Isbn: 0451627121 (ISBN13: 9780451627124)
The Lively Art of Writing is the best “how-to-write” book I have ever come across after much researches online about how to write an essay. It is a 15 chapters guide to writing an essay. This book pinpoints the different techniques and approaches to a successful paper for the “untalented” few; for those who are willing to learn, and for those who need help in their writing. My brother actually offered his credit card for me to purchase this book online. It was a gift, and it means a lot to me now. When this book arrived, it was the greatest thing that could happened to me. It is the smallest and lightest copy of a book that I can easily stored in my jacket pocket. I read it wherever I go, on subways or when I am bored. I learned a lot about how to really writing an essay.
The first few chapters explains a well established opinion is, in fact, an essay. And an opinion forms a thesis, and thus expands into paragraphs and ends with a conclusion. This lovely book then ascribes back to the details on essential knowledge in making stronger arguments, more fluent sentences structures,beautiful writing styles, and the “what to” and “what nots" in writing and more. This book basically educates you anything you wish you can learn in a writing class.
The author, Lucile Vaugha Payne writes professionally. Her tone is comforting, and supportive. This has to do with her career, because she was a teacher in high school and college. Furthermore, “she has been a successful magazine editor, feature writer, newspaper reporter, drama critic, and author of widely anthologized short stories.” With her experiences, she is well qualified as a teacher, professor, and a writer. She understands where the students are coming from, and she reveals the secrets to the art of lively writing. Simply put, she is an amazing author and teacher.
In 9th grade, I missed my Writing Art’s class because I had an ESL class instead. So whenever someone in class mentions little details of what he or she learned from Nourok's writing art's class, I get confused. But with The Lively Art of Writing, I know exactly what my classmates are talking about every now and then when they recall a detail that they learned. For example, I remember someone drew a visual structure of an upside down triangle in explaining how to write a succinct introduction. Payne is able to illustrate the same knowledge with a clearer explanation,“The function of the introductory paragraph is simply to introduce the subject and come to the point.”(she underlines "come to the point" with an upside triangle on the page in the book). Through reading this book, I am able to draw connections to the writing lessons in my previous social studies, writing arts, and literature classes. It is amazing to acknowledge the amount of materials this little copy of book beholds, if not everything about writing arts in my three years of high school.
This book is great for Advanced Placement English students, it only polishes one’s writing with more tips. This is a book to enhance one’s writing, one can learn how to write without taking a writing art’s class, and without being the “talented” few. I learned so much about how to write an essay after reading this book. It is my honor to recommend this book to anyone who believes that he or she can write, and is willing to put efforts into improving his or her writing. The art of writing should begin here, with this book.
Author: Lucile Vaughan Payne
Pages: 288
Publisher: Published March 1st 1969 by Signet/Mentor (first published 1965)
Isbn: 0451627121 (ISBN13: 9780451627124)
The Lively Art of Writing is the best “how-to-write” book I have ever come across after much researches online about how to write an essay. It is a 15 chapters guide to writing an essay. This book pinpoints the different techniques and approaches to a successful paper for the “untalented” few; for those who are willing to learn, and for those who need help in their writing. My brother actually offered his credit card for me to purchase this book online. It was a gift, and it means a lot to me now. When this book arrived, it was the greatest thing that could happened to me. It is the smallest and lightest copy of a book that I can easily stored in my jacket pocket. I read it wherever I go, on subways or when I am bored. I learned a lot about how to really writing an essay.
The first few chapters explains a well established opinion is, in fact, an essay. And an opinion forms a thesis, and thus expands into paragraphs and ends with a conclusion. This lovely book then ascribes back to the details on essential knowledge in making stronger arguments, more fluent sentences structures,beautiful writing styles, and the “what to” and “what nots" in writing and more. This book basically educates you anything you wish you can learn in a writing class.
The author, Lucile Vaugha Payne writes professionally. Her tone is comforting, and supportive. This has to do with her career, because she was a teacher in high school and college. Furthermore, “she has been a successful magazine editor, feature writer, newspaper reporter, drama critic, and author of widely anthologized short stories.” With her experiences, she is well qualified as a teacher, professor, and a writer. She understands where the students are coming from, and she reveals the secrets to the art of lively writing. Simply put, she is an amazing author and teacher.
In 9th grade, I missed my Writing Art’s class because I had an ESL class instead. So whenever someone in class mentions little details of what he or she learned from Nourok's writing art's class, I get confused. But with The Lively Art of Writing, I know exactly what my classmates are talking about every now and then when they recall a detail that they learned. For example, I remember someone drew a visual structure of an upside down triangle in explaining how to write a succinct introduction. Payne is able to illustrate the same knowledge with a clearer explanation,“The function of the introductory paragraph is simply to introduce the subject and come to the point.”(she underlines "come to the point" with an upside triangle on the page in the book). Through reading this book, I am able to draw connections to the writing lessons in my previous social studies, writing arts, and literature classes. It is amazing to acknowledge the amount of materials this little copy of book beholds, if not everything about writing arts in my three years of high school.
This book is great for Advanced Placement English students, it only polishes one’s writing with more tips. This is a book to enhance one’s writing, one can learn how to write without taking a writing art’s class, and without being the “talented” few. I learned so much about how to write an essay after reading this book. It is my honor to recommend this book to anyone who believes that he or she can write, and is willing to put efforts into improving his or her writing. The art of writing should begin here, with this book.
November 19, 2014
I read The Lively Art of Writing in preparation for a class I teach and liked it so much that I rewrote my syllabus around it. Its emphasis is on writing good essays, but the advice could apply to many kinds of writing. Although the book has not been updated since its 1969 publication (making some of the examples outdated), its information is still fresh and relevant. The Lively Art of Writing is a wonderful book for struggling writers. It clearly explains how to write a thesis, what makes a good thesis, how to write a paragraph, how to connect paragraphs and how to conclude well. Each chapter contains clear instructions as well as assignments for practicing each new writing skill.
While I’ll always be partial to the genius of Strunk and White, I thought that Payne did a more thorough job of explaining the mechanics of writing. This is a great book for those who would like to improve their writing.
While I’ll always be partial to the genius of Strunk and White, I thought that Payne did a more thorough job of explaining the mechanics of writing. This is a great book for those who would like to improve their writing.
June 3, 2023
Good gravy, this is a fantastic book. It methodically and beautifully walks the reader through the process of essay writing. Sounds boring? Not a bit. Clever, precise, and witty, it demonstrates that only a genuinely brilliant writer should author a how-to book on writing. Don’t waste your time and money on writing curricula; this small tome is all you need.
June 29, 2017
Good facts and information, but the writing is extremely patronising and old-fashioned. It infuriated me.
April 3, 2010
This was the "how to write" book used in AP English at Maine Twp. H.S. South. Like the description I've inserted says, I found it boring, but I also found it useful, especially in terms of conceptualizing how to organize an paper. It didn't make me a good writer, but it did make me adequate enough to get through the three first semesters of college at which point I decided to get serious about the research, planning and time required for a competent essay.
November 19, 2014
Fuck writing. And fuck my ELA teacher. That is all I have to say
August 17, 2025
“All writing—not just writing we classify as literature, but all writing, from the most ordinary to the most sublimes—springs from the very simple and very basic urge of human beings to communicate with each other. You write for the same reason you talk: because you have something to say.”
Published in 1969, I would still call this an awesome [and important] read. While I consider myself slightly better than mediocre with my writing (grammar and punctuation), there is a lot I have forgotten from when I was in school- I’m sure I have forgotten more than I realize.
This was great for learning new principles to keep in the back of my head, as well as, a great refresher for some of the things I have forgotten (those realized and those not realized).
While I did not complete the “assignments” in writing, I did complete most of them in my head as I read through the chapters and sections of this book, and found many places that can still be improved upon.
I really enjoyed the author’s encouragement to keep both a dictionary and a thesaurus on or near you at all times, especially when writing.
I always enjoy reading through older instructional books like this and seeing how things have changed over time, and often they demonstrate and show how communication has not only changed, but WHY older writings [in general] are better than what gets published today. Many of these guidelines and rules have become ignored, and so much of modern writing is found lacking…riddled with misquotes, misunderstandings, lacking punctuation, and thought fragments that don’t explain what is trying to be conveyed.
While this book took much longer for me to read through than I had thought it would, it was WELL worth the time of reading it, and even rereading the sections I went through multiple times to understand better what the author was explaining, working through the exercises to help cement the explanations and lessons.
I would recommend this book for anyone who wants or needs to write on a regular basis, whether for themselves, their hobbies, and/or their work/career.
Published in 1969, I would still call this an awesome [and important] read. While I consider myself slightly better than mediocre with my writing (grammar and punctuation), there is a lot I have forgotten from when I was in school- I’m sure I have forgotten more than I realize.
This was great for learning new principles to keep in the back of my head, as well as, a great refresher for some of the things I have forgotten (those realized and those not realized).
While I did not complete the “assignments” in writing, I did complete most of them in my head as I read through the chapters and sections of this book, and found many places that can still be improved upon.
I really enjoyed the author’s encouragement to keep both a dictionary and a thesaurus on or near you at all times, especially when writing.
I always enjoy reading through older instructional books like this and seeing how things have changed over time, and often they demonstrate and show how communication has not only changed, but WHY older writings [in general] are better than what gets published today. Many of these guidelines and rules have become ignored, and so much of modern writing is found lacking…riddled with misquotes, misunderstandings, lacking punctuation, and thought fragments that don’t explain what is trying to be conveyed.
While this book took much longer for me to read through than I had thought it would, it was WELL worth the time of reading it, and even rereading the sections I went through multiple times to understand better what the author was explaining, working through the exercises to help cement the explanations and lessons.
I would recommend this book for anyone who wants or needs to write on a regular basis, whether for themselves, their hobbies, and/or their work/career.
November 11, 2018
Though I was forced to read this book in my AP Composition and Writing class, I can say that I did enjoy it. This book does a great job of describing how to write an essay worthy of a 9 on the AP scale in a manner that is subtly humorous and engaging. The assignments that are inside the book do a great job of solidifying information previously read, though you can look up the answers online (I wouldn't recommend doing that by the way, the answers are very vague and they don't help teach you the material).
January 25, 2023
Writing: 2.5/5
Educational Value: 1.5/5
Message: 3/5
Entertainment: 2/5
General Enjoyment: 2/5
Average: 2.2 stars, rounded down
This could have been a good guide if it wasn’t so condescending… normally I love books about writing and how to communicate effectively, but this one didn’t really teach me much, and a lot of it seemed very subjective. There were some nuggets of good information throughout, which is why I’m not giving it one star, but I wouldn’t recommend this book for aspiring authors. Maybe for students who have no clue how an essay works at all, but that’s about it.
Educational Value: 1.5/5
Message: 3/5
Entertainment: 2/5
General Enjoyment: 2/5
Average: 2.2 stars, rounded down
This could have been a good guide if it wasn’t so condescending… normally I love books about writing and how to communicate effectively, but this one didn’t really teach me much, and a lot of it seemed very subjective. There were some nuggets of good information throughout, which is why I’m not giving it one star, but I wouldn’t recommend this book for aspiring authors. Maybe for students who have no clue how an essay works at all, but that’s about it.
December 27, 2024
skipped the sections about writing essays and term papers, but still found the sections about style entertaining. i will steal some of these exercises for my classes.
LVP is opinionated and quite funny, although some of her grammar advice is outdated.
LVP is opinionated and quite funny, although some of her grammar advice is outdated.
September 16, 2018
This book will certainly enrich the style of your writing, no matter if that is thesis, term paper or anything else.
July 1, 2019
A staple of Crabdad's meme duology.
February 7, 2021
Gives great writing ideas but it’s a little outdated. I now have a few exercises to work on with my writing.
April 10, 2021
Good lessons and assignments for students in middle school
February 3, 2022
Although you can tell that the author is qualified for their line of work, it is not the most interesting book. When reading, treat it as if it is a guide rather than an informational novel.
March 10, 2022
This book is an antique. The only good part was laughing at how outdated some of it was.
October 26, 2022
definitely lively…perhaps even rowdy at times dare I say
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2023
Incredibly boring 😀👍
January 14, 2025
helped my writing increase so much in my own style and professionalism
March 28, 2025
Changed the way I write and read. Was required reading in high school, but I constantly refer back to this text.
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June 5, 20253.5, some was dated but still useful to improve writing...
July 3, 2025
A book that should be read by anyone who wants to write anything
August 27, 2017
Incredibly helpful for anyone interested in writing! Helpful for everyone.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews