Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark

On Saturday, the day before I left for Wisconsin, I spent some time in Barnes&Noble. Probably the only time I'll get to spend at a Barnes&Noble for a while. I spent a great deal of time browsing through books and another great deal of time studying. At the end I've decided to buy two books which I hope will have tremendous help on my fictional writing.

Now, mainly on a daily basis I do my best trying to become a better writer. I have a strict schedule I follow and I try not to deviate away from it as much as possible. For the most part I am very good with it. I learn one new word a day, I study grammar daily (though in all honesty, I feel it all escapes me), I have an online journal, another journal at home on my desk which I ponder on more deeply analyzing all sorts of insane things. I've never been good with a diary, so my journals have always been about things I've recognized in my life, something I've observed to be rare or true, something I might have lived through and the various other influences in my life. I have a dream journal I keep handy near my bed to write in. I also have an ideas journal, in which I write all of the ideas that come to me. It might be just a character, a few sentences or full on ideas that are ready to flesh out, thought about and then settle into the writing stage (though those are a rare find). I read one poem, essay, short-story and a novel a week complete with their analysis. You can't write without reading as they say. I believe reading is an essential and an inescapable part of writing, if not for the sole reason of knowing what's been written before you. I tend to stick to  classics with small deviations into the modern day readings. I want to finish the Classics before I start reading modern books. That's another topic for another day.

Now the first book I settled on was Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark. It has a subtitle of 50 Essential Strategies For Every Writer. In it, there are literally 50 lessons from the chapter titles I felt it was necessary for beginner writers like myself. The 50 lessons have been down into four parts. First part Nuts and Bolts. Second part Special Effects. Third Part Blueprints and the last part Useful Habits. Chapter titles are as follows
Begin sentences with subjects and verbs.
Order words for emphasis
Watch those adverbs
Pay attention to names
Seek Original images
Work from a plan
Learn the difference between reports and stories
Foreshadow dramatic events and powerful conclusions
Use internal cliffhangers
Write from different cinematic angles
Write toward an ending
Draft a mission statement for work
Break long projects into parts
Learn from your critics

Sounds powerful and promising.

Each chapter has explanations, examples from well known writers and at the end called "Workshop". Any number of questions in which you can practice what you've just learned.  I just could not let go of this book.  I haven't begun reading this book, I probably won't begin reading this book in the next few months, I've only just gazed over it and skimmed through some of the chapters and it's enough to make me feel giddy inside. I feel that at the end of this book I will have given myself a better shape as a writer and that my stories will at least have the potential to have potential.

The next book is...(tune in for the next blog entry)