Diane Wordsworth: freelance writer ● novelist ● editor ● ghostwriter ● book reviewer ● member of the CWA ● world-famous nutter-magnet
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over 52 weeks. The initial year has sailed on by, and my last post was so long ago I couldn’t find it on my dashboard. I want to finish the project, though, and only have 6 books left. So I’ve renamed it simply 52 Books, and here is book 47 … well, when I say book … there are actually 5 of them in this series. BUT … […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over 52 weeks. The initial year has sailed on by, and my last post was so long ago I couldn’t find it on my dashboard. I want to finish the project, though, and only have 7 books left. So I’ve renamed it simply 52 Books, and here is book 46. Goal Setting for Writers by Sandra Gerth is really the first book in a short series of writers’ […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over 52 weeks. The initial year has sailed on by, and my last post was so long ago I couldn’t find it on my dashboard. I want to finish the project, though, and only have 8 books left. So I’ve renamed it simply 52 Books, and here is book 45. Time Management for Writers by Sandra Gerth is book 2 in a short series of writers’ guides. I […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 44. Save the Cat! has been the last book on screenwriting that screenwriters will ever need since 2005, and then there was another, and another … until there were five books using this tried and tested method of writing, including … the last book on novel writing that novel writers will ever need. I wanted Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. It’s actually taking two years, but here is book 43 anyway. How to Plan, Outline, and Write Your Novel in 30 Days is the latest guide from Amy Deardon. And I have to say … it’s possibly the best book on writing I’ve read in a very long while. Not only is it a great writer’s guide, it’s also an excellent resource if you’re planning […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 42. Thanks to NetGalley and to F&W Media for an advance copy of Writing Without Rules by Jeff Somers. I wasn’t approved to review the book at my first try, but when I asked again on a “wish for it” button, my “wish” was granted – and I’m very glad it was. I don’t know if it’s just the proof copy or […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 41. I bought the paperback of Writing & Selling your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron very soon after it came out. I loved it so much that, when I saw an electronic version was now available, I bought that one too. The electronic version has been updated and now includes more recent working examples as well as tips and advice on self publishing. […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 40. Write a Novel in Ten Minutes a Day is a book I once promised myself as soon as the next person paid me. When that first payment came in on a Monday, I bought it. And I’m very glad I did. From the Teach Yourself stable, it’s a useful little book, but not so much about “write a novel in ten […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 39, which is also courtesy of NetGalley and Pendragon Cove Press. Thanks to NetGalley and to Pendragon Cove Press for an advance copy of The Business of Writing: Practical Insights for Independent, Hybrid, and Traditionally Published Authors by Kim Iverson Headlee. First of all, this is not strictly a book on the business of *writing* per se. It’s actually a book on […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 38. Story Starters is a book of fiction writing prompts from Fiction Attic Press – or New York Times award winning author Michelle Richmond. Michelle has been teaching creative writing for a lot of years, and she’s a widely published author. Therefore I wasn’t surprised at how good this book is. It’s a book that does exactly what it says it does – […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 37. The Busy Mom’s Guide to Writing by Angela Castillo and Jamie Foley, is the first in a series of (currently) three writers’ guides. Later this year, all three books will be available in a boxset, so it might be worth hanging on until then before buying it. The “busy mom’s” part of this is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, the authors […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 36. How to Write a Novel step-by-step is part of a series from Sandy Marsh, and several of the box-sets are free. The subheading for this one is: Essential romance novel, mystery novel and fantasy novel writing tricks any writer can learn. However, the book doesn’t seem to lean specifically towards any of these and can be applied to the initial planning work […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 35. How to Write Fiction Without the Fuss by Lucy McCarraher is another of those that does exactly what it says on the cover. I loved this book so much that I even bought the non-fiction title. Instead of having loads of different worksheets to download or photocopy, this book just tells you to start a notebook and keep everything in there. It […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 34. The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors is by Anne R Allen. It was mentioned in a Facebook group recently, so I thought I’d take a look. It didn’t take me very long to read it from cover to cover, so it’s a quick read with lots of short, punchy chapters – twenty-eight of them. And it’s a very good place […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 33. How to Write Pulp Fiction by James Scott Bell is probably my favourite how-to-write book from this author. Before the end I was already making notes, trying out the random plot generator and thinking up characters and seedy settings. The author starts with a history of pulp fiction before going into how the same techniques can be applied to today’s ebook […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 32. I thought it was going to be another of those make-a-fortune-using-my-tried-and-tested-method books by an author who hasn’t actually had (m)any books published, and I admit I resisted buying it for some time. However, I’m glad I gave in eventually, because Blockbuster: How to Write $1million by an Author Who’s Actually Done it by Dean Crawford is a great read at just under […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the course of a year. Here is book 31. I first bought* How to Write a Novel the Easy Way! Using the Pulp Fiction Method … to write better novels by Jim Driver & Jack Davies in December 2014. However, I’ve only recently got around to reading it … and I wish I’d read it sooner. Much sooner. I loved this book, I really did. I found it refreshing, […]
Read moreI’ve got myself a little behind on this. I’ve been reading the books, I’ve just not found the time to write them up. In a bid to catch up, here we go again … I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the course of a year. Here is book 30. The Emotion Thesaurus: a Writer’s Guide to Character Expression is one of a series from Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. All of the books can […]
Read moreI set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 29. I didn’t know this one was on my Kindle until it popped up one day during NaNoWriMo and I spent several minutes making sure it hadn’t slipped on there un-ordered by myself. However, the Amazon page told me that I’d actually “bought” it on 6 November 2014 … ho-hum … Jill Mansell’s A-Z of Happiness: a glimpse into the surprising and […]
Read moreA brief interlude from NaNoWriMo … I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 28. Stop Worrying; Start Writing: How to Overcome Fear, Self-Doubt and Procrastination by Sarah Painter is one of those that does exactly what it says on the cover. It’s not a how-to-write book, there are no exercises. It’s a self-help book for authors who worry. A lot. As does the author. And the author does, in fact, […]
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