What's In Store

By Kathryn Lance

I have three newish books this month, two of them must-haves for all writers.

Spunk & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Punchier, More Engaging Language & Style, by Arthur Plotnik . Random House, 2005. 263 pp., $16.95.

This book, written by a former publishing executive-turned-author is intended as a modern, up-to-date companion to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. The author promises to teach you how to put more zip into your writing while continuing to write in clear, unpretentious language

There is a wealth of good advice here, including how to keep your vocabulary fresh, when to use extreme language and how adverbs, the presumed bugbears of lucid writing, can actually pep things up. One of the best sections, of particular interest to fiction writers, is found in the chapter on diction. The author offers strategies to help create individualistic language for different fictional characters. For example, does your character bellow, "Shut up!" or ask others to "pipe down"? Does she beg, "Please keep quiet," or demand that you "put a lid on it"?

I also found valuable the extensive chapter on opening hooks. The author lists several types, including symbolism, understatement, contrast, foreboding, force (powerful imagery) and intimacy (connection between narrator and reader), along with plenty of examples. Even experienced writers casting about for a good opening might hook one here.

I do have a quibble with the chapter on dialogue tags, in which the author bucks the conventional wisdom to use "said," "replied" and "asked," and not much else. Although he maintains that other tags should be used sparingly, he approvingly holds up J.K. Rowling and Danielle Steele as masters of the hiss and snarl.

What about adverbs with dialogue tags? The author helpfully points out that they should never be used when "the manner of speaking is already clear." There is much, much more, including advice on closings; fragments; lists; how to avoid misusing the Thesaurus; punctuation rules and when to break them; and feng shui (yes, feng shui).

Plotnik certainly practices what he preaches. His writing is lively, sometimes too much so: he lost me in the section on intensifiers when he began comparing such words as "very" with defensive leukocytes in the blood stream.

I recommend this book to pros and beginners alike. It definitely deserves to be on the bookshelf alongside Strunk and White.

Author Law A - Z: A Desktop Guide to Writers' Rights and Responsibilities, by Sallie Randolph (with Stacy Davis, Anthony Elia and Karen Dustman). Capital Books, Inc., 2005, 350 pp., $21.95.

The writers of this helpful new tome include ASJA member Sallie Randolph and former member Karen Dustman. Sallie, who has negotiated on behalf of many writers, went to law school after spending years as a successful freelancer, so she definitely knows whereof she speaks.

The book is packed with legal definitions and advice, including many examples from people who have "been there and done that."

You will find everything here from Acquisitions (with a sidebar featuring an acquiring editor's advice: always ask for more money; get rid of the option clause; ask for more free copies) to the Zapruder film (and its involvement in a fair use case). Other of the many valuable topics include writers' organizations; how and why to register copyright; negotiating tips and sample publishing and collaboration contracts, with full explanations and suggestions for making them more fair. Among the types of sidebars: Ask Author Law (Is copyright a relic of the past? No!); Tools and tips (what to do when your publisher doesn't pay); and The Courts Say (cases that touch on legal points affecting writers).

My husband, the retired lawyer, found the book "well written and authoritative," but was bugged by the same thing that bothered me: because the book's information is forced into the artificial "A to Z" format, with no index or table of contents, it is not always obvious where to find specific information. The material is so interesting and fun to read, however, that it is probably worth your while to page all the way through it, reading the items that interest you.

Author Law A - Z belongs on every writer's bookshelf, but it is much more than a reference; it is a lively read that is sure to appeal to writers of every level of expertise.

Full disclosure: I'm one of the ASJA members quoted in the book, but I didn't remember this until I was nearly through reading (from back to front). Next time, I'll review a book on memory improvement.

Writing the Fire! Yoga and the Art of Making Your Words Come Alive, by Gail Sher. Bell Tower, 2006, 223 pp., $12.95.

This odd little book is dedicated to the proposition that practicing yoga can improve your writing, and vice versa. As a former serious yogini (female yoga practitioner) I can attest that these two disciplines do indeed inform each other. As the author makes clear, the practice of yoga and the practice of writing both evolve through practice and patience.

The book offers instructions on basic yoga poses followed by related, mostly interesting "writing asanas" (exercises). For example, after performing Headstand, try rewriting a story or essay from the opposite point of view.

Overall, this book is probably too gimmicky for a general writing library, but it might make a nice gift for a beginning writer and/or yoga practitioner.

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KATHRYN LANCE, a member since 1979, is the author of more than 50 books of nonfiction and fiction. Her own favorite novels are Pandora's Genes,an adult sci-fi romance-adventure, and Going to See Grassy Ella, a YA novel about a visit by a young girl with cancerto a faith healer.