Devil in the Words. Книга для практики английского языка

– Will you help me make a drawing? – asked the sister.

– No. – Peter answered briefly, immersed in thoughts about the book.

– Well, please, is it difficult for you?

– Yes, it’s difficult for me now. Besides, these are your lessons and you need to do them yourself.

– Because of you, they’ll give me a bad mark, and my mother will scold me. —

– Then go and draw what you need to draw, and don’t look at pictures on the Internet. —

– I don’t know how to draw, I can’t do it.

Peter got up from the sofa and went to the computer.

– I can’t help you, I have my own things to do. – Give me back my computer.

– I won’t get out from behind the computer until you draw me a picture. —

– I won’t draw anything.

– Well, that’s it, then go lie on the sofa.

– Give me back my computer.

– Draw me a picture.

– What do you need to draw?

– Our classroom, view from above.

– And what’s so difficult about this? Just draw rectangles and squares.

– I can’t, I can’t do it.

– What might not work out there?

– All.

– Okay, let’s go, I’ll draw you a drawing.

Together they went into the next room. Peter took a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and began to draw. After spending a few minutes, he drew a classroom that looked more like a bunch of rectangles and squares representing desks, chairs, and cabinets.

– Hold it. – he said, and gave the drawing to his sister.

– Thank you. – she answered.

Peter returned to his room and sat down at the computer desk. Collecting his thoughts, he again tried to think of something to write a book about, but his head was completely empty of ideas.

– Maybe just try to start writing, and then the path goes as it turns out. But about what? – he thought, bowing his head over the keyboard.

Glancing at the mug of coffee that stood in the corner of the table, he took it and took a sip. The coffee was no longer hot as it had been a few minutes ago, and its taste was no longer as rich as before.

– First you need to create a plan. – said Peter, reflecting on the book. – I’ll come up with a plan, and then I’ll write according to the plan. —

He opened the desk drawer and took out a squared notebook and a pen. Opening the first page of the notebook, he wrote: «Plan.» That’s where all the thoughts ended. There was not a single idea, not a single thought about what a book could be written about. All dreams of a beautiful life and millions in royalties turned into emptiness, exactly the same as the one that reigned in his head.

– And how do these writers manage to write their books? – Peter got angry. – You need to look at someone’s book, understand how it’s written, how many scenes there are in one chapter, and how many words.

Having opened a website where free books were posted, Peter opened the first one he came across and began reading it. It was one of the most popular books in the world, selling over one hundred and fifty million copies. Peter chose one chapter at random and began to read it. Images and pictures, characters and their actions swam before his eyes, the world began to come to life in his mind, giving him impressions. The author was a master of words; he knew how to reach the reader’s consciousness. Peter was amazed by what he read, although he was not a fan of reading books, which made it doubly difficult for him to write them.

– Amazing. – he thought after finishing reading the chapter.

He highlighted the entire text of the chapter and copied it into an office program to see the word count. The number four thousand was displayed on the monitor.

– Four thousand words! – Peter was amazed. – And it reads so easily and quickly, as if there were only two!

He drank the rest of his iced coffee and created a separate folder for the future book, inside which he placed an office program file.

– Well, we need to come up with a name. – he thought. «But first you need to figure out what the book will be about.» Let’s say this book is about a writer who writes a book. You need to write down all the names that might fit.

Peter took the notebook that he had recently taken from the table and began to write down possible titles for the future book in a column:

«Peter and the Notebook.»

«Writer of the new century.»

«Young Writer»

«Only a writer.»

«The genius of the pen.»

«The devil is in words.»

«Master of Words»

«Genius of words.»

Having written several titles he liked, he began to choose the one that, as it seemed to him, could best suit the work he was going to write. After thinking for a few minutes, he settled on the title: «THE DEVIL IN THE WORDS.» He found it quite interesting and somewhat mystical. Now all that remained was to decide on the genre of the work and come up with a plot for it.

The bridge of the nose twitched again. Peter began to rub it with his fingers, as this tic greatly distracted him and did not allow him to concentrate.

– Go ahead already! – he blurted out.

The sister entered the room again.

– I need to do English. Help me translate the words.