The full title of this book is: Make Every Word Count: a guide to writing that works—for fiction and nonfiction by Gary Provost. Gary, an author, speaker, and writing coach, had a unique sense of humor that flavored his writing and speaking. While I’ve often found plowing through a grammar or writing book tedious, Gary believes in writing tight: That is, he gets in, gets to the point, and moves on. Although he’s a word-count minimalist, he still makes room for humor. I found his writing style delightful.
I’ve been writing since grade school. I’ve studied writing, taught it, and published, yet I marvel why it took me so long to run across this book. I can’t remember what I was looking for among the used books on eBay, but this one caught my eye. With a title like Make Every Word Count, I couldn’t resist buying it. This ex-library book from Austin College is a first edition hardback, published in 1980. Although I already own half a dozen writing books I’ve yet to read, I started reading this one the day it arrived.
In Part One, Gary opened with the question, “Can writing be taught?” His response: “No. Throw this book away.” The following paragraph reads, “Yes, yes, of course writing can be taught.” Nice intro. He often refers to “writing that works,” meaning that every word in a sentence must be doing some work “or it should be fired.” Ah, a guy after my own heart. In critique sessions, I often note that a piece is “too wordy.” On this subject he wrote, “The smaller the number of words you use to contain a thought or an image, the more impact that thought or image will have.”
He explains that “pruning your prose” need not be a chore, that it can be “as much fun as any word game.” Throughout the book, Gary paused to suggest word games that authors could use to improve their writing. Great exercises for writing students.
I wanted to jump for joy when I read his Coffee Break about writing at McDonald’s because I’ve written many stories and articles doing the same thing. In Moab, the McDonald’s has a large, lounge-type room with lots of windows where visitors can eat a Big Breakfast and drink cups of coffee for as long as they want. I’d sit there for three hours or more just reading and writing. In Gary’s words, “I go to McDonald’s not for the gourmet food, but because I can have a table to myself without being waited on or charged a minimum.” He claims that his “McDonald’s fix” always proved to be a productive period. Well, it always was for me. I really miss that place.
In Part Two, Gary discussed the various nuances of Style. He pointed out that although there are dozens of style guides, they don’t always agree, which most writers have discovered. Nevertheless, he wisely adds: “The important thing is not to be ‘right,’ but to be consistent.” Yep.
In Part Three, the section on Tone begins with the line, “Your writing won’t work if the reader doesn’t know how he’s supposed to feel.” If the author’s words don’t encourage an emotional response in the reader, the reader will soon find something more interesting to read…or do. By tone Gary meant “a consistent attitude about the material, an attitude that the writer weaves into his work. He expects the reader to maintain the same attitude…” Gary advised writers to refrain from sending the reader mixed messages, like depicting a vigorous chase scene full of tension and fear yet taking a moment to describe the awesome orange sunset on the horizon. That may seem like an obvious gaffe, but it happens.
A quick search reveals many instances of Gary Provost’s famous quote about sentence length, which begins with: “This sentence has five words.” The quote is on Goodreads, Rutgers University-Camden, Stetson University, Tumblr … it’s all over. Naturally that famous paragraph is highlighted on the site devoted to Gary: https://www.garyprovost.com/how-to-tips/
This book contains eight parts, each short and succinct, demonstrating how Gary took his own advice: Make Every Word Count.
Happy writing!
Ann
Sounds like great advice…thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Kelley.