Author Archives: Sabi Writers

Review writing is one of the most relevant modern-day writing skills. More so, it is used in selling books and analyzing their content. What sells a book are the reviews written on it, although the role of the words of mouth cannot be overemphasized too.

A book review is a critical appraisal of a book, article, play, film, etc. It is a form of literary criticism in which a book is analyzed based on content, style and merit.

There are two kinds of book review:

Prepublication and

Post-publication review.

Whereas prepublication review is written for libraries and bookshops that are going to purchase the book in bulk, the post-publication review is written for people who are potential readers of the book being reviewed.

Approaches to Review Writing

There are two approaches to writing a book review: descriptive and critical review.

Descriptive review gives the essential information about a book. This is done with description and exposition, by stating the perceived aims and purposes of the author, and by quoting striking passages, dialogues, etc., from the book.

Critical review describes and evaluates the book in terms of accepted literary and historical standards, and supports this evaluation with evidence from the book.

A book review is expected to answer two questions:

• What is the book about?
• How good is the book?

Understanding what a nonfiction book is all about and how good it is, for instance, is relatively a straightforward process. The reviewer only needs to determine if the author was able to express his thoughts and ideas clearly in a way that the reader can understand.

Determining how good a fiction piece is, on the other hand, requires that the reviewer understands the five elements of fiction: character, setting, plot, theme and style and how effectively the author used these elements.

Becoming a good reviewer rests on only one factor – experience. Experience is developed through consistent writing, in-depth understanding of book content and the ability to explain the same.

The American inventor, Thomas Edison, is probably well known for his invention of the first commercially viable light bulb. Another common knowledge about him is that it took him about a thousand failed patent experiments to invent the light bulb successfully. This is as basic as most people know about the inventor.

Growing up as a child, Thomas had quite several challenges that made him stay away from school. He was home-schooled by his mother and subsequently self-educated himself by reading extensively on various and wide range of disciplines. In a couple of years to come, the ideas that gave birth to his invention would come from his reading and studies.

A lot of people nowadays want to become the best thing that has happened to writing after James Joyce but are unwilling to bear the sacrifice it requires. Being a reader is as equally important as identifying as a writer. To become a good writer, you have to read well and read always. Virginia Woolf had a massive library at her disposal while growing up as a child. It should not come as a surprise then that she turned out to be one of the best writers of the 20^th century.

No writer ever turned out great without been an avid reader, and most of these writers are products of what they read. One of Nigeria’s finest poets, Christopher Okigbo, had read the French poet, Stéphane Mallarmé, so much that Okigbo’s poetry took the obscurantist form of Mallarmé’s. Read and read until writing becomes an effortless means of expression for you, but before then, here are some essential tips you need to know on how to become a great reader.

Not every reader will become a writer

This is a truth that a lot of aspiring writers do not want to hear – we all cannot become writers and not all writings are fully formed as quickly as you might expect. Whenever you read, therefore, you should do so with intent to grow your wealth of knowledge and expand your mind. It might take a longer time than you imagine to become the writer you want to be, but do not stop reading. Millard Kaufman was 90 years old when he published his first novel,  Bowl of Cherries.

Read the right stuff

Be intentional and strategic about your reading because what and who you read will pile up into a reservoir of knowledge, and they will influence what you will write, eventually. Desist from reading everything that comes your way. While this might be a bit difficult to adhere to, you should look out for authors you aspire to become and whose works you admire. Read them religiously. The aim is not to become like them, but to be influenced by them. Create a reading timetable for yourself; read around selected topics, themes, periods and authors. This strategic reading habit will help you carve a voice of your own when and if you begin to write.

Develop yourself

Language is more than a medium of communication; it is a signifier of culture, a mirror of thoughts and life. Most 17^th century writers were able to speak at least two languages, from Latin to Greek, French and English. Their works were rich because their thought processes were formed from different linguistic roots. Every language is a corpus of the historical and cultural nuances of its speakers. Whatever language you speak, read and might decide to write with, master it very well. Understand the nitty-gritty of the language. In the books that you read, make sure you pay attention to how the authors make use of grammar, syntax and figurative expressions.

As a reader and writer, understanding two or more languages gives you access to alternative universes of thoughts. You would never be restricted by the limitations of thought and expression. If you find it difficult to form a thought or an idea in one language, you can easily seek refuge in another.

Read without ceasing

We cannot overemphasize the importance of reading. Keep reading to increase your wealth of knowledge and flourish your universe of imagination. When the time is right for you to write, there will be an unlimited reservoir of knowledge at your disposal. No one grows out of reading, so keep at it because there is no end to reading.

Storytelling is one pastime almost—if not—everybody engages in. We all have stories to tell; we recount events to our friends, family, and colleagues. These stories birth emotions that cause tears or laughter.

Now that you have seen how natural storytelling is, you don’t have to stiffen up next time you try to put those words to paper. It’s not so hard. Let’s look at a few tips that will help guide you:

• Figure out what your audience needs: Both fiction and non-fiction storytelling have this in common. At the end of the story, what do they expect to gain? Or what do you want them to learn? With this in mind, constructing a story will be a lot easier.
• Set the story: Every story is set in a place or time. Some settings are more specific than some others, which are more descriptive and expansive. For instance, December 25, 2011—Ikeja, Lagos—11 p.m. or more descriptive like The hut stood crooked, as if leaning in the direction of the wind, cracks running from top to bottom like veins protruding from an old man’s hand, giving it character.
• Characters: Especially in fiction storytelling, it is easy to get hung up on making your protagonist perfect and your antagonist, well, the devil. Your protagonist is the center of the story with a clear goal that they plan to achieve at the end of the story, and the antagonist is the one person or thing standing between them and their goals. There are other central characters that the plot revolves around who are important to the story too.
• Plot: The sequence of events that cause a connection between audience and protagonist.
• Cause and effect: A bulk of your story should be told in a way that everything that goes on in the story is caused by the event preceding it. Though there are other instances where it would be better to go the other way, this format helps with the flow and understanding.

Cause: They have a big fight.

Effect: She takes a walk.

Instead of telling it as She takes a walk because they had a big fight, tell it as, There was palpable tension between them after the confrontation, so she grabbed her jacket and went for a walk.

• Conflict: The only reason a reader stays hooked to your story is that they can’t wait to see how you resolve the conflict that the characters, especially the protagonist, have been thrown into. It is the conflict that builds the suspense, one of the main elements of an exciting story.

I hope these tips help you tell your story. But if you can’t find the time to write that story, Sabi Writers can do it for you!