June 10, 2020 Book Review and Commentary, the Craft of Writing
The craft of writing is an ongoing exploration for me. My post Reviews of Writing Craft Books on this blog has reviews with a long list of the best books on writing and my recommendations. Here is a review of Sacha Black’s newest release Anatomy of Prose, 12 Steps to Sensational Sentences.
This book is going to go down as one of the MUST READs for any writer, beginner or seasoned. While John Truby, Ray Bradbury, and Sol Stein are at the top of that list, I will add Sacha Black to the list of Top Ten Books to Read on Novel Writing. She covers everything you need to know, in depth, about writing fiction. I have over 30 writing books on my shelf and they all instruct on how to improve a writer’s prose. Of course, Black goes beyond just the prose, she gives you direction on story structure, pace, characters, emotional intelligence, brilliant show vs. tell insights, and the value of great sentences compared to average sentences. She identifies the literary devices that will make your prose more powerful and memorable. I especially liked her advice on writing descriptive prose.
For new writers, this book will provide a major leap to improving your writing skills. For the seasoned writer (with every novel, we continue to keep learning this craft), Black explores so many fascinating tools and precise techniques that I felt all my writing skills sharpened and crystalized to another level. She does have a potty mouth, which would normally turn me off, but the writing is so endearing, so witty, I didn’t mind at all. Highly recommended.
Sacha Black writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.
For more book reviews and recommendations on the craft of writing, click HERE.
Paula Cappa 