- StumbleUpon. Synonyms for. Sesquipedaedalus: Prettiest Words: All of Them. 23 Pages. Could Always Use More, Though. New Year's Resolution Reading List: 9 Essential Books on Reading and Writing. By Maria Popova Dancing with the absurdity of life, or what symbolism has to do with the osmosis of trash and treasure.
Hardly anything does one’s mental, spiritual, and creative health more good than resolving to read more and write better. Today’s reading list addresses these parallel aspirations. And since the number of books written about reading and writing likely far exceeds the reading capacity of a single human lifetime, this omnibus couldn’t be — shouldn’t be — an exhaustive list. It is, instead, a collection of timeless texts bound to radically improve your relationship with the written word, from whichever side of the equation you approach it. If anyone can make grammar fun, it’s Maira Kalman — The Elements of Style Illustrated marries Kalman’s signature whimsy with Strunk and White’s indispensable style guide to create an instant classic. On a related unmissable note, let the Elements of Style Rap make your day.
On the itch of writing, Lamott banters: On why we read and write: Kurt Vonneguts 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story. By Maria Popova The year of reading more and writing better is well underway with writing advice the likes of David Ogilvy’s 10 no-bullshit tips, Henry Miller’s 11 commandments, Jack Kerouac’s 30 beliefs and techniques, John Steinbeck’s 6 pointers, and various invaluable insight from other great writers.
Now comes Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922–April 11, 2007) — anarchist, Second Life dweller, imaginary interviewer of the dead, sad soul — with eight tips on how to write a good short story, narrated by the author himself. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.Start as close to the end as possible.Be a Sadist. The 10 Greatest Fantasy Series Of All Time. Fantasy as a genre is often unfairly maligned.
While there are plenty of authors who seem to be paid by the word and are only concerned with churning out volume, there are many authors producing fantastic works that transcend genre and often are even worthy of the word literature. While there were many worthy contenders, here are what we consider to be the 10 greatest fantasy series of all time. 10. The Wheel Of Time by Robert Jordan I could probably write several pages on what's wrong with The Wheel of Time (Jordan never could write female characters, the quality fell off a cliff after book four, the series should have ended many, many books ago, etc., etc.), but the positives of the series greatly outweigh the negatives. 9. The Dark Tower actually shares some similarities with The Wheel of Time. That being said, like The Wheel of Time, the pluses outweigh the minuses in the case of The Dark Tower series. 8. Zombies! 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.