book author

BOOK REVIEW: The Questions That One Needs To Answer

An analytical or critical review of a book is not essentially its summary. It is a description and an evaluation on the quality and significance of the book, in light of specific issues and theoretical concerns. It should focus on the book’s purpose, content, and authority. It is a work where the strengths and weaknesses of the book are analysed. When writing a review, some questions have to be kept in mind.

Main Questions to Ask

These are as follows:

Is there a specific topic that the book deals with?
Does it seem to have any overall purpose?
For what readership is it written?

The preface, acknowledgements, bibliography and index is generally helpful in answering these questions. Do not overlook facts about the author’s background and the circumstances in which the book was created and published.

Also, think about asking:

Does the author state an explicit thesis or a theme?
What are the theoretical assumptions? Are they discussed explicitly?
From what point of view is the work written?
Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some other subject?

Again, look for statements in the preface, etc. and follow them up in the rest of the work.

The Genre and Material

Is there a genre that the book can be categorised into?
How does the book fit into it?

What types of material does the work present itself as (e.g. primary documents, literary analysis, personal observation, biographical or historical accounts).

The Author’s Style

What is the style of the author?
Does he/she have a formal or an informal approach?

Evaluate the quality of the writing style and tone by using some of the following standards: clarity, originality, correct use of technical words, conciseness, fullness of development, fluidity.

The Audience/ Readers

Does it suit the intended audience?
What do you like or dislike about the book’s writing style?
Is the book readable as well as technically accurate? Is the language stilted, or natural?
Are the examples easy to follow?
How well is the book organized?

Materials and Sources

Are there other ways to argue from the same material?
Does the author show awareness of them?
In what respects does the author agree or disagree?
What theoretical issues and topics for further discussion does the work raise?

The Affect of the Book on You

Did the book affect you at all?
If it did, then how did you cope with it?
Did you have any preconceived notions of the topic?
Did it change after you read this book?
How is the book related to your own personal agenda?
What are your own reactions and considered opinions regarding the work?
How well has the book achieved its goal?
Would you recommend this book to others, and why?

The above mentioned questions will help in structuring the way you want your review to take shape. What it can also do is to open a new insight into the book that you are writing on. So keep them in mind and go ahead writing reviews on your favourite books.

Generating Interesting Articles and Titles – Part Two

Delving into parts we should not have to reach….colon cleansing made “interesting”

My previous post provided some generic formulae widely used for generating articles and titles that readers are attracted to. As a professional writer, you are not always in a position to pick and choose your assignments and you may be faced with producing content on the most unsavoury of topics. In this instance, I recently had to deal with an assignment on colon cleansing, and though the memory still haunts me, the writing show must nevertheless go on.

Previously, I dealt with “How to..” Lists and quoted a “Study” as a way of generating titles and articles. I will finish this off here, with three more general formula techniques.

Copyright – A Must For Internet Safety

It is a common trend, today, that online content is often found to be republished on other websites without permission being asked from, or credit given to, the original author of the writing. As more professionals make their work available online, protecting it is of primary importance. It is imperative that writers and publishers take steps in protecting their work from people who use it for personal gain. Copyrighting all their online material, gives writers and producers the safety that is needed to protect their work.

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, architectural and certain other intellectual works.

What Not To Do When Writing For Children

Yesterday I was going through a book written for children. Interesting, but not captivating enough. Writers make the mistake of underestimating the quality of work when it comes to writing for children. That doesn’t make sense, as right from the beginning children should be accustomed to reading quality writing. Hence, I would like to enumerate 7 points on what not to do when it comes to writing for children. If you’re interested in writing for teenagers then see my previous post on writing for teens.

Never underestimate children’s capacity and use of kiddish language

Remember that you are writing for children who are often more shrewd and clever than what you were as a kid. After all, the internet, television and computers have widened the range of information and knowledge that is available to them. Nowadays, even children expect quality and substance when they read.

When Writing For Teens, Write Intelligently

First, let’s be clear about something. Teens are those budding youngsters above the age of 12 and below the age of 20. As you can see, this is indeed a wide range, and books written for someone who is twelve will certainly differ from books written for those at eighteen. Though different maturity levels require books on a different subject matter, all you need to know is that books for teens should be well written and about intriguing topics. There are a few tips you can keep in mind while writing books for teens.

Think from a teenager’s point of view

When writing, always keep in mind that you are writing for a teenager; try to think back when you were that age and think about what appeals to them. Get to know teens and ask them what they like to read. Don’t just listen to what they have to say; apply it in your writing. They are generally looking for thought provoking books written on subjects that fascinate them. Have a look on Goodreads to see what titles (and topics) are currently popular before starting to write.

Characterisation And Its Uses

What is a character?

The writer uses many ways to convey the nature of a character. It’s quite obvious he is unable to attach a photo of his character to a book or manuscript. However, there are ways in which a character can be described and written about that enables readers to visualize the character and create an impression of that character’s behavior. Firstly, when the character is physically described, the writer wants the reader to create a faint picture of the character in their mind.

As an example, I have taken a brief excerpt from ‘Angels and Demons’ by Dan Brown. (Read more here.)

Although not overtly handsome in a classical sense, the forty-year-old Langdon had what his female colleagues referred to as an erudite appeal-wisps of gray in his thick brown hair, probing blue eyes, an arrestingly deep voice, and the strong, carefree smile of a collegiate athlete. A varsity diver in prep school and college, Langdon still had the body of a swimmer. A toned, six foot physique that he vigilantly maintained with fifty laps a day in the university pool.

While reading the passage above, the reader imagines that Langdon has an athletic body, toned and well looked after. Now, that was easy, was it not? It didn’t need a model to explain the way he looked and it didn’t need a painting or sketch that would visualize him. We can also identify that he trains quite hard to maintain his athletic look.
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