writers.com newsletter

a monthly electronic publication from
Writers on the Net
http://www.writers.com
Vol. 7, No. 8
August 2004

IN THIS ISSUE:

WRITING ADVICE: "READ"
~~CLASS SCHEDULE~~ [to current class schedule page]
PUNCTUATION POINTER: the asterisk
ROOTS: "candidate"
~~NEWSLINKS~~
QUOTATION

WRITING ADVICE: "READ"

"Read."

That's the most common piece of advice that any experienced author or editor is likely to give an aspiring writer. You are told to read "good writers like London and Kipling, but only read what you enjoy.... If a writer doesn't speak to you, toss him away...." (D.W. St. John) or to "study the masters. You can learn even from the ones you don't particularly like." (Sandra Brown). "Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it." (William Faulkner) "Endless general reading is the only way to develop the sense of rhythm and language which enables a writer to 'hear' good prose" (Susan Cooper)

Beyond that advice you will be told to read within your field (but not too much), read books on writing (but not all of them), read biography, philosophy, theology, psychiatry, mythology, and, most importantly you are told to read broadly, voraciously, and without ceasing.

No wonder Salman Rushdie (whose first novel was published when he was 28) suggested no one should attempt to write a novel before the age of 50 -- you need to spend 40 years just reading!

Seriously, "Read!" has always been good writing guidance for a number of reasons - you discover ideas, learn technique, acquire common and uncommon knowledge, find enlightenment, experience other points of view, gain a deeper understanding of people, places, and processes - most of all, though, it's fun.

Reading can occasionally be tedious, of course, and there are times in everyone's life when reading whatever one wants cannot be a priority. But if you do not enjoy reading in general - then please do not attempt to become a writer. This may seem obvious, but creative writing teachers and editors frequently come across folks who want to be writers but don't seem to be readers. They may read a book once in a while or peruse a magazine occasionally, they may even read quite a bit of a particular type of literature, but they are far from avid readers and it shows in what they attempt to write.

Writing is both an art and a craft. Reading is an effortless, enjoyable way to learn a great deal about both while gaining knowledge of much more and being entertained.

"Those who do not read have no advantage over those who can't," wrote Samuel Clemens. When it comes to writing, those who do read have a great advantage over those who don't.

PUNCTUATION POINTER
the asterisk (*)

To be precise, the asterisk is not a punctuation mark. It is a "gylph" or "typographical symbol" just as the ampersand (&) or number sign (#). The star-like symbol's name comes from the Greek word for star, "aster." An asterisk is used to draw attention to a single explanatory footnote at the bottom of a page. (In modern typography, if a page needs more than one footnote, numerical superscripts are usually used.) The symbol is also used to show omissions of letters. Three asterisks (***) centered alone on one line indicate a paragraph or more is missing when quoting or that a section of text is missing. Three asterisks in a horizontal row can also mean a break in between one section of fiction and another.

In computer terminology the asterisk is used as a wildcard symbol to represent any string of characters is many operating systems and applications. It signifies the complex conjugate of a complex number (example: if x=a+ib, x*=a-ib) in mathematics. Although programming languages and calculators use the asterisk as a symbol for multiplication, it is never used when writing math by hand.

In ASCII text such as email, asterisks surrounding a word (like *this*) indicates emphasis (either italics or boldface). It is also used in place of a bullet in lists.

ROOTS
"candidate"

The Latin word *candidus* meant "a bright, almost glowing or glistening white." ("Albus" was used to connote plain old dead white. The English words "albino," "albumen," and "album" all descend from "albus.") A man wishing to be elected as a magistrate in ancient Rome wore a toga of this extreme whiteness as he made his rounds to speak to voters. The office seeker came to be called a "candidatus." The white toga was not only eye-catching, it was subliminally symbolic of the purity and integrity of the candidate. White togas were a campaign expense as special cleaning, bleaching, and chalking were required to obtain the garment's gleaming whiteness. Other campaign expenses included bribery and feeding one's supporters. (Political campaigns were self-funded, so only the rich could run effectively for office.) Bribery was frowned upon, but so was making your toga so white. According to Roman historian Titus Livius (59 BC - 17 AD), a prohibition was instituted in 432 BC, against office seekers adding "white to their dress" in the form of chalk. This was the earliest election law in Rome (and known history.) The penalty for conviction of chalking one's toga was banishment from campaigning for 10 years. Laws against buying votes were also established, but such campaign prohibitions were not always enforced. All campaigning practices -- legal or illegal -- ceased to exist under imperial rule as popular elections disappeared altogether. During the reign of Tiberius (14-37 AD), the senate began making public appointments; in a short time such appointments were entirely in the power of the emperor.

The words "candid," "incandescent," and "candle" are all related to "candidus." Some etymologists also connect "incendiary" and "incense."

QUOTATION: "Aspiring writers should read the entire canon of literature that precedes them, back to the Greeks, up to the current issue of 'The Paris Review'." -- William Kennedy

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