. . . from litlove’s Reading Room
List some of your favourite words:
Murmur, discombobulated, crepuscular, singularity, loquacious … (more to come)
What’s your favourite maxim or proverb?
When the gods want to punish us they answer our prayers.
What’s your favourite quotation?
“What is the use of a large vocabulary of words if one has only a small range of ideas?” Robertson Davies
What’s your favourite first line of a novel?
“I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice – not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.” – John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
Give an example of a piece of description that’s really pleased you in your reading lately:
[have to get back on this one – nothing springs to mind at the moment]
Which five writers do you particularly admire for their use of language?
Vladamir Nabokov, Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Dorothy Parker, Martin Amis
And are there writers whose style you really dislike?
Dan Brown, John Grisham, Ernest Hemingway
What’s the key to really fine writing, in your opinion?
Believable dialogue, intelligent humour, the ability to teach without preaching, creating empathy for a book’s characters (whether you like them or not)…
Feel free to tag yourselves… 🙂
Please link back here (and to litlove’s) so we can all read your replies,
or just leave a comment here with your answers if you prefer.
casa azahar 
Ooh! Ooh! I’m going to have to tag myself on this one. I see we share a favourite word: crepuscular. I’ve probably mentioned before that I used to think it meant ‘toad like’, from the Frenche, le crapaud. I imagined a crepuscular dawn as being damp and slimy.
I’ll give it some thought…
…and I will get back to The Bonobo Interview, pt 2. I’ve had my answers written for ages, but keep forgetting to unite them with the questions. A holiday and a few more postings have intervened since.
And I’ve some follow-up questions for you – if it’s not too late.
LikeLike
That’s great Edward – shall look forward to your answers. I still need to add to my favourite words and also find a description example.
I see you’ve been quite busy writing posts – will also look forward to The Bonobo Interview, pt.2.
And follow-up questions from you are always welcome. 🙂
LikeLike
But nobody ever comments on my posts. 😦
LikeLike
Oh all right then … 😉
Hint – you should link your name to your blog when you leave comments, where it asks for your website. Just saying that you often post quite interesting comments and that would naturally pique someone’s curiosity about your own blog, so maybe you could make it easier for people to find you.
LikeLike
Wonderful answers! I particularly love that proverb, which I am committing to memory immediately!
LikeLike