Staycation: Day 1 (Even though I’ve been here a couple of days, I am officially starting today)
I purposely didn’t schedule any posts during November. Well, I did have some reviews ready to go, but I took them down. I plan to reevaluate the way I write and see if I can approach it in a different way. I was inspired by everyone who is participating in NaNoWriMo. While I do not have any future goals of writing a novel of my own, it doesn’t mean that I can’t spend the month writing away.
I always wonder about what I say in my reviews. A lot of times I worry about the content and how I sound. Other times I don’t care. After all, the reviews are a reflection of what I think about them, whether they contain a technical evaluation or not. For the most part, when I like a book, the words flow naturally. I also worry about redundancy. How many ways can I describe how much I love a book?
Right? Am I the only one who feels this way?
Oh, there are also times when I have so much to say and I cannot fully express myself. It’s like I have a million words in my head and it only translates to one word grunts. “Amazing.” Seriously? *facepalm*
I often turn to my old English textbooks. Every now and then, I also read books about writing a novel or a book. It applies to what I am doing, even if it’s not exactly the same. I am writing for a target audience. I want to keep the reader engaged. I want to make sure my point comes across. That’s interchangeable for a novel as well as a review, right?
Today, I went to the bookstore and checked out their reference section. I’m in a different frame of mind while I’m here so why not have a new book to refresh my memories? I found these titles and thought I would share.
- Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass | Writer’s Digest Books
- How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey | St. Martin’s Press
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King | Pocket
- Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee | Regan Books
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne, Dave King | Collins
I totally relate to this post. Sometimes I really struggle writing reviews, and stress about the writing style, tone, and whether I’m repeating myself, putting in too much info about the book, gushing, etc.
That’s so smart of you to check out books on writing to apply it to your reviews, and also to use NaNoWriMo to write reviews & blog posts. Love that! And yay for Staycations 🙂