Status Updates From Steering The Craft: A Twent...

The writing is a bit difficult to get through just because Le Guin chooses to write in a atypical sentence structures and the delivery is often overcomplicated.

On the flip side, intentional repetition is a thing of beauty. I try to incorporate that in my writing as well. Done right, in the right place within a piece, it can really lift the whole thing to the next level.

Ha! I was just struggling with repetition in a recent writing activity. I am hyperaware of repetition and work to avoid the clunky, unintentional version. But when you're writing without editing, its bound to happen. And because I'm so aware and wary, I hear it more loudly in my writing than others do. It's interesting to realize others aren't necessarily as bothered by poor diversity in words as I might be.

Fun first exercise

That was rough! I can't tell if she was intentionally messing with the sentences & their structure, or if it was a lack of editing. There are some glaring mistakes, but it breaks my mind to think that Le Guin could make such mistakes & that this guidebook has seen so many reprints without them being caught and fixed.
I had started off thinking I'd want a copy of this book for my shelves, but the more I read it...nah!

I struggled with the words a bit. I did not find Kipling or Twain or any of the other writers' works to be "gorgeous" and easy to get through. I was tripping over my own tongue reading them. But that is, perhaps, more a me thing than the actual work by these much-celebrated authors.
I like the exercise suggestions and can't wait to incorporate them into the Workshop!