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Word Hero: A Fiendishly Clever Guide to Crafting the Lines that Get Laughs, Go Viral, and Live Forever
by
Jay Heinrichs (Goodreads Author)
Yes, it’s true: you can learn how to be a verbal wizard!
Ever hear someone utter an unforgettable phrase and feel yourself reacting with with…well, awe? Ever read a great quote and think I could never come up with anything that clever?
Daunting as it may seem, there’s nothing mystical about witcraft. Crafting memorable lines doesn’t require DNA-encoded brilliance. What...more
Ever hear someone utter an unforgettable phrase and feel yourself reacting with with…well, awe? Ever read a great quote and think I could never come up with anything that clever?
Daunting as it may seem, there’s nothing mystical about witcraft. Crafting memorable lines doesn’t require DNA-encoded brilliance. What...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
October 4th 2011
by Three Rivers Press
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Word Hero started out promising. The discussion of witcraft had me anticipating a thoughtful and witty book that would break down great quotes and examine what made them stick and how we could craft similarly engaging lines. To be sure, there was some of that, with good analyses of quotes from Warren Buffett and Ogden Nash and a poem by Carl Sandburg. However, for most of the book Heinrichs relies on his own wit and that of his family. And that wit is more groan-inducing than enlightening. You'v...more
Can I just put the book here for you? It could speak for itself so much better than I could.
If you are an author and want to be a better writer. If you are an orater and want to be a better speaker. If you are a wallflower and want to pull yourself off that wall and really BLOOM! This book is a must for you!
Ok, I know I soud a little like a sales pitch there. *Shrug* Sorry, but I really did like this book. I found it witty and entertaining, as well as extremely informative. To be honest, I wasn...more
If you are an author and want to be a better writer. If you are an orater and want to be a better speaker. If you are a wallflower and want to pull yourself off that wall and really BLOOM! This book is a must for you!
Ok, I know I soud a little like a sales pitch there. *Shrug* Sorry, but I really did like this book. I found it witty and entertaining, as well as extremely informative. To be honest, I wasn...more
Ever want to be the most clever person in the room, either on paper or in person? Grab this book now as your secret weapon against droll and boring speech! This book on word craft and play is probably the most humorous guide you will ever find about become a better and more memorable writer and speaker. There are exercises that help you build your skills to write more clever lines using what you already know. The author uses clever bits of television banter, most notably from the Glee series, to...more
A very clever review of many devices that writers or speakers can use to craft witticisms and become the latest Oscar Wilde. Those wordplays include Mr. Potato Head ("all the suspense of a phone book"), Venereal Language ("wag of wits," "cloister of penguins"), Getting Medieval ("get all witty"), Portmanteau ("glitterati"), Russian Doll Figures ("tantrum wrapped in a diaper"), and Yogisms("rise above our principles," "if you come to a fork in the road, take it"). Highly recommended for wordsmith...more
Won this book from a Goodreads giveaway!
If you have ever wanted to be the person who could always grab others attention and hold it just by speaking to them or through your writing, this book is for you!! It may not sound like it would be an interesting subject or that this book would be a good read, but it is simply because Jay Heinrichs is a word hero. He manipulates his speech in a way that draws you in and keeps your attention and through this book he teaches the reader to do the same! A wi...more
If you have ever wanted to be the person who could always grab others attention and hold it just by speaking to them or through your writing, this book is for you!! It may not sound like it would be an interesting subject or that this book would be a good read, but it is simply because Jay Heinrichs is a word hero. He manipulates his speech in a way that draws you in and keeps your attention and through this book he teaches the reader to do the same! A wi...more
I got this from the giveaways on goodreads and I must say, for a book about writing, or really, creating memorable quotes, it was easy, even enjoyable to read. The reasons I didn't give this a five star rating is because 1) I highly doubt I could ever read a non-fiction book about writing and go "OMG, must immediately read again." and 2) I had issues with the way he addressed (and chose) his intended audience. After reading, it was fairly obvious that he is writing for either a) a married woman...more
The publisher sent me this book because I have a blog about punctuation. I enjoyed the examples of succinct writing. It had some good advice. The only thing that bogs it down a bit is the excessive use of technique names. I'll remember some of the tips but not what the "Mr. Potato Head" is.
The author really likes himself. The author thinks he's clever - really, really clever; fiendishly clever. He states again and again that his family does not agree with him on this. They are CORRECT.
A very difficult read.
A very difficult read.
Disappointed. Was greatly anticipating, as I loved Thank You For Arguing (enjoyed, read and digested at least a half dozen times, and inspired me to explore the ancient classics on the art of rhetoric).
Found this volume to be "dumbed down" too much, and the goofy pop references, that seemed refreshing and insightful in Thank You For Arguing fell flat in Word Hero. And the author seemed to be straining by the end of the book, as his examples of "story" struck me as entirely uninspiring and uninte...more
Found this volume to be "dumbed down" too much, and the goofy pop references, that seemed refreshing and insightful in Thank You For Arguing fell flat in Word Hero. And the author seemed to be straining by the end of the book, as his examples of "story" struck me as entirely uninspiring and uninte...more
This book was just okay. I had heard so many good things about it, and it was real a let-down. If he is a word hero, then I don't want to be one. He is not clever, fiendishly or otherwise, and has an odd obsession with quotes from Glee. I don't doubt his credentials, but I do doubt his ability to effectively transfer what he knows about crafting lines to his audience. Unless you are utterly clueless, there's not much here that will be of assistance to writers.
I gave two stars due to the definiti...more
I gave two stars due to the definiti...more
Excellent resource for producing memorable writing. I'm rereading the book in 2013.
I thought that this book was witty and quite enjoyable to read, although I wish some sections were expanded upon. It would also have been nice if there was a larger variety of examples from humorous shows outside of Glee (The Big Bang Theory, anyone?).
On the other hand, the examples themselves aided a great deal in illustrating what the author was trying to say.
Otherwise, I feel like I learned a great deal from this book, and it's a nice supplementary for students taking any English/writing cla...more
On the other hand, the examples themselves aided a great deal in illustrating what the author was trying to say.
Otherwise, I feel like I learned a great deal from this book, and it's a nice supplementary for students taking any English/writing cla...more
**ARC/GIVEAWAY**
Thanks for the giveaway! This book is a hilarious writing guide that I've already shared with many of the middle-schoolers I teach writing to.
Thanks for the giveaway! This book is a hilarious writing guide that I've already shared with many of the middle-schoolers I teach writing to.
This book is not only good for online writing skills, but is finding itself useful to my children for their creative writing skills in High School.
Won from Goodreads giveaway and received on Oct. 17, 2011. Thank you!! :)
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“People may claim to hate puns, but most true word lovers have groaned to like them.”
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