Book Review: Books for Writers

By Vitora

Finding that perfect writing book that isn’t too snotty, isn’t too condescending, isn’t too boring, isn’t too “oh-everyone-can-write-and-get-published-because-I-did”, and isn’t too user-unfriendly can be slightly difficult. This month, I’ll take a look at several writing-related books that I’ve found useful—but, of course, you’ll have to check them out for yourself to decide if I’m wri-er, right.

The Pen Commandments—by Steven Frank

A book that aims to convey a playful approach to writing, this is an excellent read even for pleasure. But it also has some excellent advice about writing, and, should you buy it, you’ll want to grab a highlighter and/or pencil and start taking notes. I gleaned much advice from The Pen Commandments, and although it could be considered lacking in “hands-on activities”, it is still worth a purchase.

PRICE: $19.95

PROS: Useful advice; conversational, not at all condescending.

CONS: Few activities; goes on and on in a few places.

The Writer’s Idea Workshop—by Jack Heffron

Written to accompany The Writer’s Idea Book, this book will help you develop your sparks of inspiration into full-blown novel ideas. With at least seven prompts for writing in every chapter (over ten for some), Workshop really forces the reader to think for themselves rather than just reading yet another “how-to” writing book. This is another one you should consider purchasing, as notes should be taken in the margins for the full experience. (Shameless plug: I got 4 books, a total value of over $100, for $20 through the Writer’s Digest Book Club. And there’s no obligation. Trust me, it’s worth it, as is the magazine.)

PRICE: $22.99

PROS: Great kick-start to getting your ideas down on paper and writing them; conversational; presents stories of other succesful writers in a very interesting way.

CONS: Sometimes the reading itself is too short and the prompts too extensive.

Writing the Wave—by Elizabeth Ayres

I guess I’ll have to just say it, even though it sounds strange: this book takes a more “spiritual” look at writing, not so much that it is geared towards a specific religion, but in that it tries to unlock the “writer within”. Wave includes twelve bizarrely effective excersises, many of which include the randomness that readers of this ‘zine seem to like so much (though it’s a little more serious than what we do). The writing style, however, is a little touchy-feely, but if you either enjoy that type or you can wade past it, then Ayres has some great advice.

PRICE: $13.00

PROS: Great exercises; gets you in the writing “mood”; inexpensive for what you get.

CONS: Too affectionate in the style; a little bit over the top with the spiritual-ish stuff.

The Fiction Writer’s Brainstormer—by James V. Smith, Jr.

Read this one last summer over a period of two days—all 284 pages of it. Brainstormer is a very interesting approach to writing, looking more towards the mathematical side of writing (bar graphs, line graphs, stuff like that). It reads easily, in a question and answer format, and the writer’s style is gently cynical and quite funny. Many exercises, most of which pertain closely to the text, are included.

PRICE: $18.99

PROS: Easy read (even for a 14-year-old); excellent advice; good activites that force you to go beyond the basics and ordinary; mathematical approach is fresh and unique.

CONS: Rambles on sometimes; it’s hard to read when in the middle of writing a novel, as it doesn’t make the distinction between started and finished project.

How to Write: Short Stories—by Sharon Sorenson

Unfortunately, this book echoes its name: it’s really quite short. Also, it’s a little bit bland and monotonous in presenting the material; however, the advice is sound and it takes you through every step of writing and publishing a short story.

PRICE: 12.95

PROS: Good, sound advice.

CONS: Style is stuffy; book is too short.

Dojo Wisdom for Writers—by Jennifer Lawler

With “100 simple ways to become a more inspired, successful, and fearless writer”, Wisdom is a nifty little paperback that will keep you entertained as well as learning. Each of those 100 ways is a paragraph or two of advice, plus an exercise that adds to the lesson. The author, a writer of martial arts books, takes an approach similar to that of her self-defense teachings, in that she applies lines of dojo wisdom to the writing life.

PRICE: $13.00

PROS: Very unique approach; one hundred activities; easy to read.

CONS: Focuses a little too much on martial arts (that’s what your other books are for, Miz Lawler!); repetetive at times, as it seems like she had to dig deep to find a hundred different proverbs that could apply.

Sports Writing: A Beginner’s Guide—by Steve Craig

I’m sure no one else cares about this particular genre of non-fiction, but Sports Writing contains solid guidance that pertains to all areas of reporting, not just sports. At any rate, sportswriting seems to be a good way to earn a reputation and/or some cash, even if you just write for the school newspaper, so this book is worth checking out even if you aren’t an all-around sports fan (though Craig encourages you to be, because that’s how you’ll land jobs).

PRICE: $15.00

PROS: Easy read; good advice for all journalism writing; clear guidelines for sports writing.

CONS: So it is a very narrow field, and I don’t know how many Yn Nor-ers enjoy sports as much as I do. But I had to include it.

If anyone’s interested, I can review quite a few more for next month. For now, though, I think these seven are good enough. Hope you can find these books for reasonable prices (like I did—amazon.com and half.com are quite useful for these sorts of things) and that you enjoy them!