Romance Writer's Phrase Book Author: Jean Kent | Language: English | ISBN:
0399510028 | Format: PDF
Romance Writer's Phrase Book Description
Amazon.com Review
It's difficult to give much credibility to a book that late-night talk-show hosts read from in order to titillate their audiences, an indignity that has been endured by
The Romance Writers' Phrasebook. But this slim volume, which lists more than 3,000 descriptive phrases, is actually a useful resource, and not only to romance writers. Any writer looking for a picturesque way of describing a character, demonstrating action, or revealing emotion will benefit from the advice of authors Jean Kent and Candace Shelton.
Well-organized and arranged for quick reference, The Romance Writers' Phrasebook is divided into easy to search categories such as "Physical Description," "Body Movements," "Facial Expressions," "Emotion," and "Colors." Because it was originally published in 1984, many of the descriptive phrases have long since become cliché and exact usage should be avoided. The phrasebook is most useful as a source of inspiration and ideas for helping writers develop their own descriptive style.
- Series: Perigee
- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Perigee Trade (March 21, 1984)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0399510028
- ISBN-13: 978-0399510021
- Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Take a little bit from column A, add it to column B... continue on, and before you know it, you have your very own romance novel! Well, it doesn't quite write itself, and this book doesn't exactly give you everything you need--but where's the fun in writing if you take it all from somewhere else? Sometimes I felt like I was cheating--sneaking a look at the answers before writing something myself. But this isn't cheating. It's inspiration, a nudge in the direction you want to go. It's a companion book, but not something you can't live without.
It is exactly what it claims to be--a romance phrase book. It covers looks, feelings, facial expressions, voices, and, of course, sex. This last category I found the most lacking. The sex is the most important part of a romance novel--it's why most people read the books. I felt that the phrases used here were a bit... reserved. They skirted around the lovemaking and didn't get around to the nitty-gritty of it. We get phrases like "love flowed in her like warm honey" and "gusts of desire shook her," but not much that actually gets down to describing the act of intercourse. I guess this is what I have to come up with on my own.
Something I was hoping to find in a book like this is more words for anatomy. There is a section on physical appearance--both male and female--but they're the shortest sections in the book. Again, I found this book a little reserved. Where are the euphemisms for that certain part of the male anatomy? There are plenty of words to use, but it's difficult to know which to use when... and this book helps none at all with that. Again, this is one of the most important parts of a romance novel.
I've owned this book for many, many years and it's to the point where the cover and pages are dog-eared and the spine fell apart so I had to tape it to make it last longer. So when I read the reader comments below, I had to post a different take on this book.
Yes, the book was written back in the 80sm so yes, the verbiage and trends in "how" you say things has changed. Any reference books can become out of date. However, the overall message and purpose of the book seems to have been overlooked. The Romance Writers' Phrase Book is a guide that's meant to inspire an author and get a writer to understand the importance and the role of the "descriptive tag/phrase" when it comes to the overall art of writing as a whole.
Romance fiction in particular relies a great deal on emotion and internal conflict. Neglecting the little details, those descriptive phrases, can make or break a story. When I open this book, I'm not looking for a word-for-word phrasing I can simply cut and paste into my manuscript. Romance writing (heck, any writing) is never that simple or that formulaic. For me, the phrase book is a good starting point when I'm stumped on a gesture or where to start on how I want to describe an action or a particular emotion.
The Romance Writers' Phrase Book has everything from describing facial features like eyes, noses, lips, and foreheads to common actions like sitting, standing, and shrugging. It covers positive gestures like smiling, to negative gestures, expanding the basic frown to include visual cues like the eyebrows and eyes. The book covers a wide range of "emotion" tags/phrases as well.
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