1. JLT

    JLT Contributor Contributor

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    Lapsing into a Comma -- a great book on editing

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by JLT, Jan 16, 2018.

    I've just come across a wonderful book on editing by Bill Walsh. It's called Lapsing into a Comma. At the time he was writing it, he was an editor at the Washington Post, and he wrote it as a guide not only for other editors, but for writers who want to stay on the good side of their editors.

    Fiction writers might not have as much need for the book as the non-fiction writers for whom the book was intended, but I don't think there's a writer who can't bring something valuable from reading it. He's particularly interested in how modern influences like the Internet are shaping the way words are used, and which changes are Good Things and which are Bad Things. He also points out how certain word combinations can lend themselves to ambiguity and could have been avoided with more careful editing. He makes the discussion entertaining and thought-provoking. And he's up front with the disagreements he has with several of the more popular style manuals around, which is a refreshing change from the usual "You have to do it this way and not that way" arguments.

    I'd have put this title on the "recommend a book" thread, except that most of the books listed there are notable examples of their genre. This book is a toolbox, not an artistic achievement, although I'm an admirer of the author's ability to write clearly and concisely and entertainingly, in a way I've not seen since Robert Claiborne's Our Marvelous Native Tongue. (And if you haven't read that book, and love the English language, you're in for a real treat. I've read dozens of books on the English language and this one, written thirty-five years ago, is still by far the best of the bunch.)
     
    Stormburn and jannert like this.
  2. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Resources section?
     
  3. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    It looks really good. I just ordered it. Thanks for the recommendation. @ChickenFreak is right. This might be an excellent addition to the Resources section of the forum, although I'm not sure if you can post it there directly yourself or if you need to go through a Mod?
     
  4. Iain Sparrow

    Iain Sparrow Banned Contributor

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    Thanks JLT!
    I've ordered, Lapsing into a Comma and as soon as it arrives I'll get to dog-earing pages!:)
     
  5. Lankle

    Lankle Member

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    Brilliant name! Will check this out. thanks
     

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