Telling Writing

There are misconceptions everywhere about everything. Writing is no different. We think we need to outline and plan. The most formal proper language must be used. Oh yes, we think editing is boring and not needed. Uniquely, through writing, Ken Macrorie exposes the heart and soul inside the act of writing. He does this by offering practical encouragement to any one who thinks they can't write. His encouragement led me to understand that the ideas live in my mind, only to be revealed when I attempt to write freely. Try this yourself. Write a sentence, making an observation of your surroundings. Write it quickly without regard for spelling, grammar, or punctuation. The instant before you write there is an abstraction some place in your mind. It is a mystery until the words are on the page. Looking for rules, a mechanical way to be a writer? This book is not for you. Seeking the freedom to communicate thoughts living within? Macrorie opens the door. Yes, there are rules, but he teaches their spirit rather than their letter. This book steps outside the confines of a text book and beyond the structure of a manual for assembling words. Telling Writing opens the door to a writer's heart. Through it Ken Macrorie becomes a friend.

There are many of us who would like to improve our writing skills or even write for a living. Good writing is power, and it is one of the most valuable skills a person can develop. Most books about writing are really about style or structure or grammar or about writer's block or someone's personal experiences as a writer or how to develp a novel. This book is the best in its class to address basic writing, sheer and simple. I have been a copywriter for more than 20 years, and currently teach writing at a major university. This book is gold. Some examples of student writing will bring tears to your eyes, but more than anything, the book gets to the absolute heart of what makes good writing. Buy it and you won't regret it. (P.S., I am not related to the author.)

I have taught writing for 33 years, and whenever anybody asks me to suggest a book that will help them become a stronger, better writer, this is the book I recommend. Macrorie has a personal, open teaching style that welcomes you in and makes his lessons about writing easy to take. And this is true whether you're a novice in a freshman writing class or some one who has been writing for 20 years. Macrorie stresses the absolute basics of human communication, the essentials that too often get forgotten or shunted aside in high school or college classrooms. Reading his remarks about writing is tremendously empowering. You sense that he has found out the truth of good writing and he's willing and happy to share it with you. I can't recommend this book enough.

This book should be required reading for every college bound highschool senior and college freshman. It is invaluable in developing ideas, and writing discipline. More importantly, when I first came on it as a college freshman, it was the first text book I read that provided a step-by-step method on thought organization and composition, and did so in an amusing and light narrative style. I was impressed and highly recommend it.