Topic: Ideas from The Writer Magazine

10-Second Review: film adaptations from books; dialogue; spell checkers and proofreading; Phyllis A. Whitney on “middle-of-the-book blues”; Samuel Johnson on London.

Film Adaptations from Books: “…the overwhelming majority of film adaptations lose a great deal in the process of translation from book to film, and will continue to do so.” Chuck Leddy. “Lost in Translation: The Challenge of Adapting Books to Film.” The Writer (October 2008), 9.

Dialogue: “Whether it is spoken aggressively, taken the wrong way, or meant in jest, the goal of dialogue is to produce an emotional response in the reader.” Shelly Lowenkopf. “Good Dialogue Betrays Emotion.” The Writer (October 2008), 12.

Spell Checkers and Proofreading: “…never let the spell checker be the final step in proofreading. Your eyeballs will always be your best editing tool.” [Comment: Try reading from last word to first. You’ll see the details of each word. When you read from first word to last, the normal method of reading, you will skip over the details of words as you read for ideas. RayS.] Mark Peters. “Beware of Spell-Checker Mischief.” The Writer (October 2008), 12.

Phyllis A. Whitney on “Middle-of-the-Book Blues.” [Comment: Most readers experience a lag in reading novels. Ms. Whitney admits to experiencing lag in writing them. RayS.] “Middle-of-the-book blues! I get them every time. The enthusiasm with which I started out has evaporated.” “10 Ways to Cure the MidNovel Blues.” The Writer (October 2008), 22. [Comment: My suggestion for the reader to overcome the lag is to begin reading one paragraph a page until your interest is once again caught. RayS.]

London: “Samuel Johnson uttered one of the truest sentences I have heard: ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.’ ”Patrick Hicks. “Writing London.” The Writer (October 2008), 24.

The Writer is a monthly publication written by writers for writers. Its mission is to encourage writers to keep learning about writing.