“a writer down book-worder”
Yep. That is what Miss E wanted to be when she was four years old. And books are still some of her very best friends. But, to be a “writer down book-worder”, what do you need to do? What will help you on your way?
Douglas Wilson, author of Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life, tell you just what will help you in this fascinating, funny, and filled book. Timberdoodle sent me Wordsmithy and asked me to review it. It was such a fun book to read. Non-fiction books don’t often get that moniker but this one deserves it.
Whether you are a writer working on your hundredth book or a youngster who is wanting to be a “writer down book-worder”, Wordsmithy has a ton of encouragement and practical suggestions just for you. Broken down into 7 tips that each have 7 parts, Wilson has wasted no extra words just for the sake of it. Clear, clean, and concise, you will enjoy learning about how to learn about words.
Beginning with knowing the world outside of books, Wilson encourages the hopeful author to “do”. Learn from the world around you and not just the different, exciting things but the day-to-day, as well. He encourages us to learn from books – all kinds of books, from the stuff you want to tell others about to the ones that you want to tell no one about. Read the real, the imagined, the boring, the exciting. Read the dictionaries (yes – he really said that and I totally agreed with his reasoning!) and books of quotations. Read and then read some more.
From learning another language, even if you don’t master it, to writing down things that inspire or sound fun, the tips in Wordsmithy were a major encouragement for me. And I can see how they will be of great value to students, especially ones who enjoy words of all kinds. Timberdoodle has included this book in the 11th grade curriculum kit since it is such a good instruction book. If you have a student who enjoys sounds, words, and how they all work together, this is a book for them to read. I believe that I will be having Miss E, age 12, read it this fall.
Creating a commonplace book (I didn’t even know what that was until reading this!) is now on my goals list. Simple, easy-to-incorporate ideas such as this make Wordsmithy a book that is worth your time to read and share with anyone who will have to do any writing. Even essay writers will benefit from the wisdom of Wordsmithy.
Visit Timberdoodle to read an excerpt from the book or to get your copy of Wordsmithy.
At Home.
GIVEAWAY:
Timberdoodle has offered one copy of this book for a giveaway. This giveaway is open to US residents only. Please click the link below to enter the giveaway through Rafflecopter. The giveaway will end at midnight on 9/03/16 and the winner will be contacted through email.
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At Home 
“None Like Him,” by Jen Wilkin, has been a hugely helpful book this year.
–Melanie (Wren)
I like that title. It will go on my list.
This sounds like a book ,your lad will enjoy in future years, words and being accurate is important to him
The Pray-ers
I haven’t read it. I can’t wait to see the reviews on it.
CS Lewis’ Screwtape Letters has become a must read. I still can’t believe I only started reading his books (other than Narnia) a few years ago.
That one is already on my list. CS Lewis had amazing insights. We listened to The Four Loves last spring with the family. It was quite interesting.
This sounds like a great book; I bet my daughter would like it, and I know I would! A sort of related book that I’ve enjoyed is King Alfred’s English – a lot of fun exploring the origins of the English language!
Origins of English – definitely something I want to put on my to-read list.
Wordsmithy sounds awesome! And my son is in 11th grade! But I won’t take a possible win away from someone else — my son is in a college course this year for his writing and wouldn’t find time to use Wordsmithy. Someone else is going to win a great book! I like materials by Douglas Wilson.
Thank you for taking time to comment! This is definitely a neat book.
It sounds like an interesting book. I think it was something I would have enjoyed when I was in college and busy with all my writing assignments! LOL
This looks like a fun and thorough book! My daughter will be in 9th grade next year, and I will keep this in mind for her.
I always wanted to be an author when I was a child, and I wrote tons of short stories, a fee books, and way too much bad poetry!!
[…] day) Writers In Residence (awesome curriculum from Apologia that my 5th grader is thriving with) Wordsmithy (review by me of a book talking about […]