"Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your 'teaser' from that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!"
---------------------------------------
這次不只兩句話；整段看下來更有意思。
The timid fellow writes The meeing will be held at seven o'clock because that somehow says to him, "Put it this way and people will believe you really know." Purge this quisling thought! Don't be a muggle! Throw back your shoulders, stick out your chin, and put that meeting in charge! Write The meeting's at seven. There, by God! Don't you feel better?
-p123, On Writing by Stephen King
Scribner hardcover edition
史蒂芬金是相當受歡迎且多產的作家，作品常常改編成電影或電視影集，我卻從來沒看過他的小說；第一次接觸反而是個非小說類的回憶錄。從這本書明顯看到他也是個 The Elements of Style 的 believer，對於贅字（尤其是副詞）或冗長敘述深惡痛絕。金實際應用自己鼓吹的寫作技巧，文字簡潔、步調明快，而且帶著真實的親切感，讓人覺得他的確真心傾囊相授。
雖然不大懂為什麼一本談寫作的書還包括了作者的回憶錄，不過把這部份當成一個古怪男孩的成長故事來看，倒是十分有趣；豐富的人生經歷也是成就作家的關鍵之一吧。
我很好奇出版業界或坊間作家對這本書的建議有何感想；我個人覺得有些相當中肯。譬如 back story 的多寡、角色說話的語氣、華麗的詞藻或堆砌的結構... 我很贊同 Patricia Cornwell、Tom Clancy 等人都有提供太多非必要知識/訊息的習慣；個人認為 Dan Brown 也算這類作家。另外，不管英文或中文小說，我想大家都有這種經驗，看了角色對話忍不住暗罵：「拜託！沒有人是這樣說話的！」
書中另有一段話我非常同意，完全說到我心坎裡：
I'm not particular keen on writing which exhaustively describes the physical characteristics of the people in the story and what they're wearing (I find wardrobe inventory particularly irritating; if I want to read descriptions of clothes, I can always get a J. Crew catalogue.)... Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's.
Charlaine Harris 小姐啊，希望你有機會看到上面這段話，好好思考一下。
No related posts.