This might seem like a broad and pointless thing to ask at first, so please look at this before you consider my question:

quote:

Everyone interested in ideas has surely had the following experience. You become curious about a certain topic. You start with periodicals, read a bit more deeply become engaged more broadly, and start to buy and check out book after book. Pretty soon you have a good-sized library developing. You speak the language. You know the players. You apply the ideas to understanding the world. But there are still gaps, and you dig and dig to fill them. Then one day you run across something completely different: a book that not only incorporates all that you learned so far, but surpasses them all in breadth and depth. You marvel at how much time and energy you might have saved had you run across this earlier. The mind behind the book is so impressive that it makes all the other authors seem like bit players. What's more, the author makes available to you something you sought but could never find and didn't even know existed: a rigorously defended theoretical structure that turns scattered bits of knowledge into a bulletproof edifice of thought. http://www.mises.org/story/2272

The topic I am interested in is Writing. Is there a book for writing equivalent to what I just quoted? A set of books is good too, as long as they cover everything I'd need to know about writing. Money isn't a problem...

My highschool was garbage, I've been deprived of a good English class, and I've suffered as a result. Luckily, I'm fresh out and there's still time for me to learn. I just want to start with an unabridged source, that doesn't require teachers and writing clubs.. (well maybe online clubs, but that's it).

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"If she's old enough to crawl, she's already in position." -- Pedobear

Some would say the bible.
It's chalk full of life's lessons.

...not that I'm bible-thumper; not by a long shot

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"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

hey i need the same help but all what you will get from ppl who can help you is critisim. Like PCK will do that and than he makes horrible comments, just horrible.

Well I don't see any reason why I should receive any, unless such a book is a well-guarded secret that nobody wishes to share. Plus I asked as politely as I could without being too demanding.

It'd be quite rude for someone to barge in here and insult me for wanting to be a better writer...

*note: You can't google for something like this without a hundred pages of spam, and false advertising. <--Redundant? *Shrugs*

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"If she's old enough to crawl, she's already in position." -- Pedobear

Before you attack writing skills I suggest you become pro-active in trying to expand your vocabulary.

This can help http://www.thinkmap.com/visualthesaurus.jsp

I get insulted periodically. Consider yourself lucky.

quote:

Originally posted by jdat Before you attack writing skills I suggest you become pro-active in trying to expand your vocabulary. This can help http://www.thinkmap.com/visualthesaurus.jsp

Makes sense, thanks.

Though I'd still like some writing guides to accompany this "Visual Thesaurus" (cool idea).

edit: I think I'll start by finding ten or twenty random words each day, and writing 1/2 a page to a full page using them.

___________________
"If she's old enough to crawl, she's already in position." -- Pedobear

10-20 words is a lot... I don't know if you would be able to use them effectively a month later. I would go for quality over quantity. The purpose is for you to have them stored permanently in your wordbank that you'll be able to use as easily as any other word.

Just don't suffer from verbal diarrhea.
Writing can get to 'wordy' and loose its audience as well.
Be mindful of your audience.

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."

quote:

Originally posted by Akridrot Makes sense, thanks. Though I'd still like some writing guides to accompany this "Visual Thesaurus" (cool idea). edit: I think I'll start by finding ten or twenty random words each day, and writing 1/2 a page to a full page using them.

Also keep in mind that writers learn how to do so by reading books


Lately I have been reading a huge amount of research papers from law schools, listening to college lectures; and sometimes I start talking the same way in every day life .... yeah I have gotten some weird looks


The visual thesaurus is not a learning tool ( at least it isn't designed to be one ). It is used by writers to come up with alternate words.

Do NOT go the route of learning 10 "random" words a day.
It sounds like a terrific idea but it's very ineffective because the results and uses you will get out of the word will seldom correspond to your needs.

If you truly want to learn 10 extra words a day you need some outside guidance.


Verbal Advantage cd collection is a good route to go ( there are ways to get it for free ).

Once again I can't help but emphasize that you must surround yourself with advanced vocabulary in order to better your own knowledge.

Reading some of the national newspapers on a frequent basis ( get the weekend editions for example ) are a good starting point.

akridrot, writing is a skill that cant really be "taught" from books in my experience.

my advice would be to grab some reading material you wish to replicate- novel, political textbook etc, and just read a LOT. i didnt learn a damned thing about how to write whilst i was in school! i learned how to write by reading a lot. nothing beats practice!

you will find that even though authors have different styles, they pretty much obey most of the "rules" of writing. the rules are just something you pick up from reading hundreds of sentences.

good luck

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THANKS for the advice guys.

When I think about what was said here, I realize I was going the wrong way. I thought I'd become a great writer by just following what a "Write Better" book told me to do.

But why did I overlook just *reading great literature*? Boy is my face red...

Once again, thanks.

___________________
"If she's old enough to crawl, she's already in position." -- Pedobear