Comments on: Recommended reading for writers – January 2009

By: Esther

Esther — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:37:04 +0000

I agree absolutely with number 10, blogging and creative writing are not the same things, though blogs can be as entertaining as literary fiction. Thanks for the links!
I just started blogging, by the way, and though I like “creative writing” as well, I find blogging truly addictive.

By: Guffin Mopes

Guffin Mopes — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:53:52 +0000

Thanks a ton for the links. I love reading more about the craft.

By the way, I grabbed your RSS feed, I like what I’ve seen so far.

Cheers!

By: Iain

Iain — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 11:46:53 +0000

Thanks for the comments everyone, glad to here that these links have been useful!

As for number 10, you should definitely give it a go and read the follow up too as that gives it more context. There’s also lots of other useful articles on their that are less opinion-based and more about writing tips and suggestions.

Keep the comments coming!

By: Jude Calvert-Toulmin

Jude Calvert-Toulmin — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:40:19 +0000

I agree with Long Pod. I’m not even going to bother to read number 10 (but good on you for posting it to add to the melting pot of discussion!) – I’m a blogger and I’m a published author who has customers buying the product. So QED.

By: Long Pod

Long Pod — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:54:12 +0000

I can see why you don’t neccessarily agree with the guy who wrote number ten. What was his name? Lord Snooty? The Stephen Fry stuff’s great, have been working my way through them on Pod’s iPod. Keep it up Broome.

By: Tumblemoose

Tumblemoose — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:05:24 +0000

Thanks for the shout out. I’m honored to be on such a list.

I’ve perused the other recommendations here and they are great! Well worth a read.

Cheers

George

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:02:50 +0000

Excellent links, thanks. I hadn’t discovered Stephen Fry’s blogsite before this, although his name keeps being dropped regarding Twitter recently.

By: Jude Calvert-Toulmin

Jude Calvert-Toulmin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:28:25 +0000

The proofreading tips link is great, Iain.

“Proofreading is vitally important, hard to do well, and tedious as hell.” ~Brian Clark

Seconded. Never mind the creative challenges inherent in writing, proofreading is, in my opinion, one of the hardest skills to master. Typos maybe the norm even with large publishers (my OH Brian is atm reading a classic published by a large publishing house and says it is full of typos) but it is not excusable.

Reading it purely for pleasure, I haven’t spotted one typo, grammatical error or spelling mistake in Richard Branson’s Losing My Virginity and when I can afford it, a team of proofreaders will be my first investment. Sending my novel off for its first printing revision due to proofing errors actually turned my stomach, rueful LOL.

By: Joanna Young

Joanna Young — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:45:11 +0000

Hi Iain, good to see you following my own top tip for new bloggers… link out! Looks like you’ve compiled a good list here.

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:26:22 +0000

Lots of great links you’ve got here. Thanks so much for including Writing Forward and Scribizzy in this list. I’m looking forward to reading all of these