Post by account_disabled on Jan 2, 2024 7:49:41 GMT 4
Reading a newsletter by copywriter Bob Bly, I got inspired for this post. It was titled “The most valuable reference books a copywriter can own”, basically the most suitable reference books for a copywriter . Bly listed a number of dictionaries and other documentation books that he uses in his work, so he can write texts on any topic. He himself is the author of some dictionaries, such as the latest one that he published on December 25th: The Big Book of Words You Should Know to Sound Smart: A Guide for Aspiring Intellectuals .
When we talk about documentation in fiction, perhaps we are not dealing with the topic in depth, but we are usually limited to a study of the historical period relating to our novel: information on the society, on the type of government, on habits and customs, on the names used , means of transport, food, etc. Is it really enough? The writer must be master of his language When you read Cormac McCarthy, you realize how little you know Italian. Whether it is a translation means nothing, once those terms have been translated into Italian we know very well whether they are part of our vocabulary or not. Reading several of McCarthy's novels I realized that several dozen Special Data words were missing from my vocabulary: I had never heard of them. It is natural that a person cannot know all the terms contained in Zingarelli or Treccani, or in the dictionary of the Italian language you prefer, but discovering those gaps made me feel more ignorant than usual.
I asked myself: what do I want to write, if I have never even heard of the abscission , the lysimachia , the frastagli and the windrow ? You go through all those Spanish terms that McCarthy introduces and perhaps is even forced to introduce - the Texan stories of him on the border with Mexico are full of them - but at least I should have known the words of my language. “Throw your mother from the train” docet Remember the Danny DeVito movie? He played Owen, a large adult who takes a creative writing class. In that film we can learn a lesson in writing. I remember that in one scene a participant had to read her piece - a story about a submarine - and she hadn't read up on the nomenclature at all , so she called the various instruments "things". The teacher, played by Billy Crystal, pointed out that she should read up on the names of the various objects and tools in the submarine.
When we talk about documentation in fiction, perhaps we are not dealing with the topic in depth, but we are usually limited to a study of the historical period relating to our novel: information on the society, on the type of government, on habits and customs, on the names used , means of transport, food, etc. Is it really enough? The writer must be master of his language When you read Cormac McCarthy, you realize how little you know Italian. Whether it is a translation means nothing, once those terms have been translated into Italian we know very well whether they are part of our vocabulary or not. Reading several of McCarthy's novels I realized that several dozen Special Data words were missing from my vocabulary: I had never heard of them. It is natural that a person cannot know all the terms contained in Zingarelli or Treccani, or in the dictionary of the Italian language you prefer, but discovering those gaps made me feel more ignorant than usual.
I asked myself: what do I want to write, if I have never even heard of the abscission , the lysimachia , the frastagli and the windrow ? You go through all those Spanish terms that McCarthy introduces and perhaps is even forced to introduce - the Texan stories of him on the border with Mexico are full of them - but at least I should have known the words of my language. “Throw your mother from the train” docet Remember the Danny DeVito movie? He played Owen, a large adult who takes a creative writing class. In that film we can learn a lesson in writing. I remember that in one scene a participant had to read her piece - a story about a submarine - and she hadn't read up on the nomenclature at all , so she called the various instruments "things". The teacher, played by Billy Crystal, pointed out that she should read up on the names of the various objects and tools in the submarine.