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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Got a favorite writing resource?

To answer the question, I don't. Not currently anyway. I have only a few things I keep handy when writing, and I don't use them as often as I probably should. But when I do pull them off the shelf, they're not very helpful. My grammar book is a college textbook that doesn't explain anything very well. My thesaurus and dictionary don't always have the words I'm looking for. (What's up with that?)

I think it's time for some updating, hence the question. If you have a favorite, I'd like to know. I've been trying to find a good grammar book and there's so many to choose from. Perhaps it doesn't matter as long as I have one. But if you have one you swear by, post it below please.

I wish I had something to offer in return, but I don't. Instead, this is just me asking for help from all you wonderful writers. :)

5 comments:

  1. The one grammar book I have seen recommended by everyone is The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. It's a classic everyone seems to swear by.

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  2. I don't really have a favorite resource either. I have a pretty good handle on grammar, and it seems to me that the things I don't know are usually only a quick Google search away.

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  3. "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynn truss is an excellent book on punctuation.

    James Scott Bell has a series of writing books out and I'd recommend any one of them!! :)

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  4. I've got a variety of dictionaries and thesaurusi (just checked one of those dictionaries to figure out the official plural of thesaurus - "i" or "es" are equally valid), a reverse dictionary, atlases and encyclopedias, a New York Public Library Desk Reference, almanacs, and several grammar books for general reference. Fantasy writing means I have many more specialized references, mythology collections, etc. I'm of the school of thought that says you can't overdo the reference collection.

    BUT my one piece of advice is to have a few unusual words in mind to test on any dictionary you intend to buy. If it has the words you're unlikely to use, it'll probably also have the ones you will.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!