How to

Lynn Viehl’s John and Marcia: The Novel Crash Test Dummies is a work in progress; a very entertaining work in progress.

For those of us who have followed the chronicle… er, saga of these two lexiconologically-challenged… ah, word-crossed lovers, this book revisits their problems.

Lynn deals with verbosity (otherwise known as thesauritis), euphemisms and censorship disguised as advice with flare and humour.

It’s an e-book every aspiring writer, and indeed every writer, should read.

I’ve said before that writing is an evolving craft and how-to books are everywhere. Dry texts that teach grammar, characterizations, world-building, dialogue… the list seems endless and it is a brave fiction writer who plunges into the icy waters of academic prose. Eventually, the water warms you and you nod off, drowning from exposure to imponderables…

Every how to book has its own kernels of knowledge that will help you – I have a couple that I occasionally plunge into; every writer has their own style, their own way of transcribing what’s in their head onto paper. It’s up to each writer to find their own voice, because there’s no right or wrong way. There are no absolutes; you have to find your own way.

John and Marcia is the first one I’ve read from beginning to end, simply because it mixes lessons with over-the-top examples, and that’s what writers need. It’s only fifty pages, a quick read, and worthy of reading again and again, if only for the giggles.

There are books out there that provide practical knowledge rather than just the theory involved. This book is one; Holly Lisle’s Mugging the Muse is another. And, as an added bonus, both books are free from the authors’ website.

For sheer fun and entertainment while you learn, Lynn Viehl’s John and Marcia series steps hard on euphemisms, fillets thesauritis, and kicks censorship to the curb. This is a laugh out loud how to, and it’s priceless in its knowledge.

Go get your copy. Go on.