Melody

btt,btt

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

Yes, I do read them although not as much as I read fictions. Although I find them a great help to my writing, I don't have too many of them in my library (I have two dictionaries and a Chinese-English dictionary though). Recently I have also mooched a copy of Fiction Writer's Workshop and am reading it in between with my other books. There are also innovative exercises after each chapter which I find it useful. This is a great guide for those who are keen in honing their skills to better fiction writing.

17 Responses
  1. Julia Says:

    I don't read them, but I do have dictionary on my shelf. But I don't read them like I would a novel. Just use them when ever needed :)

    I know that you have drafted few good stories, and I still think you should keep up with it cause you did great in writing them :)


  2. Melody Says:

    I agree I don't use my dictionary unless it is necessary, hehe...

    Thanks, Julia! You know, I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go. :P Anyway, I haven't been writing for quite some time...


  3. Anonymous Says:

    I write poetry and I don't own a rhyming dictionary!

    LOL!

    Mine is up, too!


  4. Megan Says:

    I have either purchased or thought about purchasing that fiction writer's workshop.

    In my post I mostly focused on those type of books as opposed to grammar type books. I am completely addicted to writing books and I have A LOT of them.

    I try to write every day and some days the books are invaluable and other days they are completely useless.


  5. Melody Says:

    Gautami - I enjoy reading your poetry. I subscribed to your poetry blog so that I'll be notified whenever they're up!

    Megan - I enjoy reading that book so far. I visited your blog earlier and noticed you've listed several writing books there... Some of them looks interesting and I've to check them out. Thanks for sharing. :)


  6. Anonymous Says:

    I kind of like writing guides too. I'm not a writer but they're sometimes interesting from a reading perspective. I've never liked writing exercises though. :-s


  7. Anonymous Says:

    That book looks interesting!


  8. I have lots on writing fiction but I don't think they're doing me any good.


  9. Becca Says:

    Thanks for the book tip! I've been looking for some good writing guides. I have a few on my list by Natalie Goldberg (from the Amazon reviews, she seems to have a pretty fun style), but it's good to hear from another blogger that there are some good fiction writing guides out there.


  10. Jane Says:

    I didn't do this week's BTT! Oh no! But I do have plenty of books on grammar and such that I have collected over the years.
    Grammar Gal is pretty good too.


  11. Melody Says:

    Jennifer - I agree with you that some writing guides are interesting from a reading perspective. Some of them are so good that I forgot that they're not for reading pleasure, at least not like fictions, hehe.

    Barbara - I hope it'll be a keeper. :)

    Chris - Well, I haven't been reading many so I'm not sure how I feel about them, yet.

    Becca - Thanks! I'll have to look out those books by Natalie Goldberg.

    Jaimie - A little library of grammar books! I think I've to start one now, hehe.


  12. Kim L Says:

    Very interesting. I have a Spanish-English dictionary that I refer to alot, but other than that, I don't do much with reference books.


  13. Melody Says:

    Kim - I know, I find some reference books can be a bit dry, LOL.


  14. Kat Says:

    I'm glad that some reference books are being done in an interesting manner. I read some of my gradnpa's old grammar books for fun. :D


  15. Melody Says:

    Kat, I think I've thrown away some of my old books! I should've kept them for remembrance. ;)


  16. Anonymous Says:

    I really don't read reference books apart from Eats, Shoots & Leaves which was quite fun.


  17. Melody Says:

    Rhinoa - Can you believe that I don't have that book in my library?! I'm going to get that asap! ;)


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