Good Prose

Good Prose – Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd

Why writing matters? Opening line:

“To write is to talk to strangers.”

Ask someone who’s been doing this for decades. Whose prose is spread wide.

As some one who’s been talking to strangers for most of my adult life, I like that idea, and then, for me, books about writing and grammar are like a form of pornography — not terribly proud of it — but I have several books about grammar, writing, the nuts and bolts of what I do. Grammar porn.

As an online pioneer, yeah, been at this since before it was called whatever we call it now, and with online “street-cred” like that, longevity and that counts for considerable time spent bumping nouns into verbs, and them splitting infinitives, and the like.

So books about writing are a kind of porn, so?

“Memoir beckons. Although the form dates back at least to Saint Augustine, it holds a particular allure for contemporary writers. Ideas about privacy and decorum have changed generally; even in daily life, Americans seem to expect more and more self-revelation from themselves and others.” Page 99.

Excerpt From: Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd. Good Prose. Random House, 2013.

We all have bad habits. For me? Grammar books are a form of secret obsession.

Good Prose

Good Prose – Tracy Kidder & Richard Todd