How
We Write - Writing as Creative Design
Reviewed by Marian Newell MISTC LCGI [2000]
This book sets out to answer the question "How do we write?" Sharples starts
by highlighting the gulf between routine writing tasks and the words of great
writers who "transcend the everyday world and produce works of great insight,
elegance and power". Although as technical communicators we are not usually
required to produce prose of this standard, we still need to be able to express
ideas in the right way and communicate clearly. Sharples evaluates a range
of research and models as he investigates how good writers write and how less
good writers can improve.
The book is divided into twelve chapters in three parts. He starts with "writing
in the head", in which he looks at the mental processes involved in becoming
a writer and starting to write. He then moves on to "writing with the page",
in which he considers the cycle of planning, composing and revising as presented
in models like that proposed by Flower & Hayes (1980). He also looks at
what it means to be a writer and the many different ways in which successful
authors work. In the final part of the book, Sharples looks at "writing in
the world", where he considers the relationship of writing to culture, groups
of writers and technology.
This is not an easy book to read, in spite of its many interesting examples
and fresh ideas. It has quite an academic tone, with many references and qualifications.
The visual design is somewhat monotonous, failing to add hooks to keep the
reader moving. In addition, the relevance of a book like this to technical
communicators is questionable. Its main focus is on creative writing (as the
sub-title suggests) and it covers only a small sub-set of the skills required
for technical writing. Nevertheless, most technical writers are interested
in language and ways to write more easily and effectively. In this respect,
some of the ideas and techniques may be helpful and indeed some relate specifically
to scientific or factual writing.
There is some overlap between this book and Kellogg's Psychology
of Writing. Both analyse writers' personalities, strategies and environments,
within an academic framework. They are of similar length, with good indexes
and extensive lists of references. I found Psychology of Writing
easier to read than How We Write but, given the similarities in content
and approach, I wonder how much this was influenced by the visual design.
The former is set in a conventional serif typeface, whereas the latter uses
Rotis Sans Serif - this typeface looks very clean and modern at first glance
but does not seem to carry the eye forward.
Sharples is Professor of Education Technology at the University of Birmingham.
He is the author of Cognition, Computers and Creative Writing, Computer
Supported Collaborative Writing and (with Thea van der Geest) The
New Writing Environment.
Routledge, 1999, ISBN 0-415-18587-4
Available from Amazon.co.uk |
