Book Review - "How About It, Writer?"

It may seem odd, perhaps even uninspired, for writers to search for opening sentences from a book of listings. But Romesburg's book, "How About It, Writer?" provides lots of inspiration when crafting openings, closings, titles, and transitions in your writing. This unusual guide lists thousands of suggestions for adapting previously published sentences into exactly what you need for essays, articles, sermons, op-eds, theme papers, reports, and dissertations. (The opening sentence of this review is an example of this adaptation technique, taken from his sample sentence "It may strike you as odd, perhaps even unjustified, to speak of light pollution and social well-being in the same breath.")

The book also offers 18 ways of opening an essay and a dozen miscellaneous tips on writing, such as "How To Decide Whether Or Not To Use A Comma After An Introductory Phrase In A Sentence," "Don't Be Afraid To Put Short Details In Parentheses," and "How To Cite An Anecdote Or Fact When You Can't Put Your Finger On Its Source."

The strength of this work, however, is clearly the author's painstaking research into the structure of a good sentence. His alphabetized listings are comprised of sentences borrowed from essays appearing in "The Atlantic Monthly," "Harper's Monthly Magazine," "The Literary Digest," and other respected publications from the 1800s and 1900s.

Although the material is presented for all kinds of writers at all levels of experience as "your first point of reference for getting out of mental blocks," it should prove most useful for college students and new writers who seek help getting started on writing projects. A university professor of forestry who often cites his own environmental writings as examples in this book, Romesburg is donating proceeds from sales to no-kill animal shelters.

Author: H. Charles Romesburg
Lulu Press, Morrisville, North Carolina
ISBN: 1411628624, $22.95, 2005, 190 pp.

Copyright 2006 Leslie Halpern

Central Florida-based entertainment writer Leslie Halpern is the author of "Dreams on Film. The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science" (McFarland & Company), a book that analyzes representations of sleeping and dreaming in the movies. She also wrote "Reel Romance. The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies" (Taylor Trade Publishing), a book that reviews date movies for couples, and suggests romantic ideas inspired by these films. Visit Leslie's website at: http://home.roadrunner.com/~lesliehalpern