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Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing [Hardcover]

Patricia T. O'Conner
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Aug 10 1999
A fun, focused guide to making words work for you

 

Whether you are working on the novel that's been in the back of your mind for years or simply facing an increasing demand to write well at work or school, the fact remains: we all write more often these days, be it reports, e-mails, blog posts, or texts. But despite the increase in written communication, the fundamentals of good writing have been lost. Grammar maven Patricia T. O'Conner comes to the rescue with the most painless, practical, and funny writing book ever written. In short, snappy chapters filled with crystal-clear examples, amusing comparisons, and humorous allegories that cover everything from "Pronoun Pileups" and "Verbs That Zing" to "What to Do When You're Stuck," O'Conner provides simple, straightforward tips to help you sort through your thoughts and make your sentences strong.


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From Amazon

Patricia T. O'Conner's Words Fail Me is written in the same lighthearted tone as her snappy grammar guide, Woe Is I. This time out, O'Conner tackles the writer's art. "Good writing," she says, "is writing that works." This book is the perfect text for the novice writer who tends to gravitate toward comedic instructors. "Crummy spelling," says O'Conner, "is more noticeable than crummy anything else." Organizing your material "may be a pain in the butt, but it's thankless, too!" "Write as though you were addressing someone whose opinion you value, even if the reader is ... a stingy insurance company that won't pay for your tummy tuck." O'Conner's material isn't new--like many such books, Words Fail Me advocates the use of small words, fresh verbs, and only well-chosen modifiers--but rarely is a primer so amusing. And the clever titles strewn throughout--"Taking Leave of Your Tenses," "The It Parade"--provide added pleasure, particularly for anyone who knows how hard it can be to put a headline on a piece of writing. --Jane Steinberg

From Booklist

This book is for beginning writers--those who want to write or need to write but find that the words get in the way. Those words may include misplaced modifiers, passive verbs, and split infinitives, among others. Students writing papers, employees preparing reports, and those who just want to be understood in print may benefit from this fun-to-use answer to Strunk and White. O'Connor uses humor as she takes apart sentences and their parts and shows how each element is used effectively. She does get into the heavy-duty writing tools and even the pitfalls, including point of view, jargon, and rhythm. Marlene Chamberlain

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as helpful as her "Woe Is I" May 19 2004
Format:Paperback
After reading Patricia T. O'Conner's grammar book "Woe Is I," I was looking forward to reading what she has to say about the craft of writing. What I found was underwhelming.

"Words Fail Me" is the author's atempt to distill many years of writing in the newspaper realms into a manageable book for would-be writers. Her wit, charm, and way around a pun makes this smooth, fun reading. Tackling issues like writer's block, grammar, writing humor, smoothing out word order in sentences, and more, O'Conner gives us a handy book that nails all the basics.

But therein lies the problem: the book is too basic. There are dozens of books on the market that mine this same territory, a few better, most worse. While "Words Fail Me" is well-written and informative, it simply does not go into the level of detail that will help writers rise above the mundane. Nor does the author dish the dirt that writers need to know to get their work published. It would seem to me with her outstanding experience that O'Conner would do a better job with the "deep knowledge" she possesses about publishing as an industry. While this may be another book that she has in her, any book like "Words Fail Me" has to do a better job of helping writers distinguish themselves from the vast pool of writing talent. Millions are writers, but how do you take the craft to the level needed to stand out from the crowd? You won't be any closer to grasping this after reading this book. And that's too bad.

If you can write a decent sentence, you won't need "Words Fail Me." Sol Stein's "Stein on Writing" is an excellent next step instead, that author providing the inside knowledge sadly missing from O'Conner's book. The only thing unique about "Words Fail Me" is the fact that it may be the only book of its kind ever written that includes a lone appendix containing a joke about a duck in a hardware store. Other than that, it's just not in-depth enough to justify it as a must-read.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Sugar-flavored medicine for bad writing disease. Jun 11 2004
Format:Paperback
From the writer of "Woe Is I" comes the companion volume "Words Fail Me", full of invaluable insights on clear and correct writing, and as instructional, informative, practical and witty as its predecessor. This book, written in an engrossing, humorous and charming style, offers useful advise on effective writing, including topics such as subject, time and place, point of view, repetitions, rhythm, emotion, writer's block, sense and reason, and even the writer's audience.
It is extremely well organized for quick checkups, and covers both the basics and the not so basics that any decent guide on good writing should. The examples presented are carefully chosen to perfectly illustrate the advice given, and the tips and tricks included will permanently help you avoid the common errors that usually hinder the flow and smoothness of fine writing.
No book can make you a better writer, but this book can make you better at writing. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, a fiction or nonfiction writer, or simply someone who loves writing but dislikes studying the nuts-and-bolts of English in droning grammar and composition textbooks, this book will prove itself to be a priceless reference.
Besides the author's "Woe Is I" I also recommend, for equally sound advice on writing, minus the added wit and humor, Zinsser's "On Writing Well" and Strunk's "The Elements of Style".
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar
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1.0 out of 5 stars Yeah, words fail me too Mar 27 2004
Format:Paperback
This book, which tries to be funny, falls flat on its face. It is trite and sophomoric, and offers little food for thought to anyone with a basic knowledge of the English language. It has that simplistic humor of "Dummies" books, and it just doesn't work for me.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Meeting of Art, Reason, and Fun.
Patricia O'Conner's Words Fail Me presents so many practical insights into effective writing that I suspect it would be valuable to almost any writer. Read more
Published on Oct 25 2002 by Wesley L. Janssen
4.0 out of 5 stars Great explanations of writing's little mysteries
It's one of life's little ironies that you find yourself engaging in things as you grow older that you hated when you were younger. Maybe hate is too strong a word. Read more
Published on Sep 5 2002 by Glen Engel Cox
5.0 out of 5 stars The Title Says it All!
That a book on grammar, syntax, and word usage could be readable is unusual in itself. That the reading could be a pleasure, rendering this a book which you will find tucked under... Read more
Published on May 26 2001 by Joanne M. Friedman
5.0 out of 5 stars from a foreign perspective.
i have my doubt when i want to buy this over raving reviews, but i m glad i did. i wrote in indonesian language and sometimes in english too. Read more
Published on Feb 1 2001 by T SANTOSO
5.0 out of 5 stars Words Fail to Describe
Patricia O'Conner writes like a person would talk. It's very easy to follow what she's saying and identify with it, no matter what your writing experience. Read more
Published on Jan 5 2001 by FictionAddiction.NET
5.0 out of 5 stars Great refresher course!
An excellant book for those of us who slept through english class back in high school. Ms.O'connor is entertaining and puts rules of grammar in a context you can remember.
Published on Aug 4 2000 by Peter A. Connaughton
5.0 out of 5 stars I Disagree
I disagree with the former reviewer who stated this book might be more suited for novice writers. I am a professional writer and found this book a wonderful reminder of lessons... Read more
Published on Jan 31 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all writers.
I think anyone, from a beginner to a professional, can learn something from Words Fail Me. No, it won't make you a great writer. No book can. But it'll make you a better writer. Read more
Published on Jan 30 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars As funny and useful as "Woe I"
I find "Words Fail Me" more useful than any other book about writing I've seen. The only other one that comes close is William Zinnser"s "On Writing Well,"... Read more
Published on Dec 24 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good though basic
An entertaining and informative read. Ms. O'Connor is obviously a pro in every sense of the word. Her book is perhaps more geared to novices than to those of us who've been out... Read more
Published on Oct 18 1999
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