Minds and Manuscripts

I have been reading quite a few books on writing. I finished On Writing by Stephen King. It was a good book with important tips for wannabe writers. The majority of the books I read were about memoir writing. They were Art of Memoir by Mary Karr and Write it All Down by Kathy Rentenzenbrink. It was good to read the processes of the writers who write memoirs. I had finished Naked Drunk and Writing by Adair Lara it was an okayish book with useful tips. Other books I read were The Writing Life by Anne Dillard, The Writing of Fiction by Edith Wharton, On The Art of Writing by Arthur Quiller-Couch, Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande and How to Be a Writer by Ruskin Bond. I personally found Anne Dillard’s book to be self indulgent, Quiller-Couch’s book was more about British Nationalism than writing and Edith Wharton’s book smelled of arrogance and snobbery. Dorothea Brande and Ruskin Bond were helpful and gave helpful tips on writing.

Of all the books I read on writing I liked Stephen King and Ruskin Bond the best. They had useful advice for wannabe writers which could be used and also dispelled a lot of fears that young writers may have.

As far as fiction goes I haven’t been able to read much except a few more pages of Dracula. I intend to finish it and after that I will start another book. Though I read some short fiction, some short stories in Hindi and in English. I read two stories of Amrita Pritam, and a couple of horror short stories of William Hope Hodgson. It was a fruitful week as far as reading is concerned though I would like to increase the amount of fiction that I read, as time permits.