WD Editors

Noble’s Book of Writing Blunders (And How To Avoid Them)
By William Noble
ISBN 1-58197-475-6
$16.99, 160p, 50 b&w illus.
Available in December 2006

Read an Excerpt!

To see an excerpt of the book, click here.

There are only two kinds of writing: lively, warm, personal prose that readers devour; and the rest. But writers-boxed in by constricting rules-know it’s not easy to create the first and avoid the problems that lead to the second. In this book, the reader learns that some of the worst mistakes come from sticking too closely to “the rules.” Each tip is a self containted lesson, demonstrating a frequent writing blunder and how to correct it. Examples include “Don’t be a slave to a grammar guru” and “Don’t write for your eigth grade techer”. By learning what not to do, the reader will be set free to create the kind of writing that makes fiction and nonfiction crackle with life.

About the Author
William Noble is the author or co-author of many books including “Shut Up!” He Explained; Make That Scene, Steal This Plot, and Conflict, Action, and Suspense (Elements of a Fiction series). His short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in more than 40 magazines and newspapers. He has appeared on more than 80 TV and radio shows in connectin with his writing, and now he is a full-time writer based in his 150-year-old farmhouse in Cornwall, Vermont.

Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Don’t Write for Your Eighth-Grade Teacher
2. Don’t Complicate the Obvious
3. Don’t Be a Slave to a Grammar Guru
4. Don’t Let That Point of View Waver
5. Don’t Freeze and Formalize Language
6. Don’t Use Journalese or Slangify Words and Phrases
7. Don’t Overuse the Thesaurus
8. Don’t Underuse the Dictionary
9. Don’t Duck the Punch in Punctuation
10. Don’t Wallow in a Sentence Straightjacket
11. Don’t Write the Perfect Paragraph
12. Don’t Get Tricky and Jazzy With Style
13. Don’t Add Adverbs and Adjectives to Prettify Your Prose
14. Don’t Sprinkle the Poet’s Urge Over the Narrator’s Product
15. Don’t Let Rhythm and Sound Turn Sour
16. Don’t Dabble With “Smoky” Words
17. Don’t Expect the Maid (Editor, That Is) to Clean Up Your Mess
18. Don’t Hug Fad Words Without Your Fingers Crossed
19. Don’t Get Cute With Spellings and Dialogue Title
20. Don’t Wave Away Clichés and Botched Metaphors
21. Don’t Passify Your Verb Voice
22. Don’t Hide Parallelisms in the Prose
23. Don’t Ignore Effective Italics
24. Don’t Repeat Without Relevance
25. Don’t Assume Author Absolutism
26. Don’t Wrap Characters in the Same Grammar Blanket
27. Don’t Neglect Grammar When Mood and Atmosphere Change
28. Don’t Underestimate the Richness of the English Language
29. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Your Own Rules