Book Review: Starting from Scratch

Kristen King

Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writer’s Manual

By Rita Mae Brown

Bantam, 1989

272 pages

reviewed by Sarah E. White

If only Rita Mae Brown would take a little time out of her busy schedule of writing best-selling mystery novels with her cat Sneaky Pie to revise and update her wonderful book of advice to writers, Starting from Scratch. You’ll get an idea how old the book is from the cover, which features Brown, her cat, a stack of manuscript papers and a typewriter.

This book is like a time warp to that weird, wonderful world before the Internet and pervasive home computers (there is brief mention of how great computers are, but she insists a writer needs a typewriter, along with good reference books and a cat or two). The references to technology will make you grin, and the age of this book is by no means a reason not to read it.

When she says “Starting from Scratch,” she means it. Brown spends a large portion of her book talking about words: what they mean, which ones you should use (Anglo-Saxon versus Latin), verbs, passive voice, adverbs and adjectives, the joy of the subjunctive and the need to find the emotionally evocative word.

Of course there are sections here on plot and character development, writing dialogue and ways to make money writing, but the really interesting parts of this book are those the other books don’t have, including Brown’s curriculum for a four-year “literary conservatory” and her list of the best reads in English from 665 to 1981. She also explains why every writer should learn Latin and provides exercises such as the parent game, where you start by giving yourself imaginary parents, then famous people and people you know and finally your characters.

This book is definitely a worthwhile read even more than 15 years after its publication. Brown has a wonderful, chatty voice and a lot of wisdom to share with writers of all levels. You’ll probably find yourself inspired to tackle her reading list, and maybe even to take a crack at learning Latin.

****

Sarah E. White is a freelance writer and editor living in Arkansas. She is the author of Doing the Write Thing: The Easy Way to Self-Edit. Her home on the web is http://www.sarahewhite.com.

Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.