Beverly L. (bevychap) reviewed Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces on + 151 more book reviews
I've read a lot of books on writers and writing. This one was a little different.
First, it was geared towards nonfiction and journalism, rather than fiction writers or novelists. There was a lot of advice on research, etc -- very useful for a historical fiction writer, even if that wasn't the original intent.
Second, it didn't really attempt to inspire or encourage. Fine with me -- there are plenty of those books out there. My guess? This book was either written by an engineer, or the child of engineers. It read like an instruction manual.
Third, it was organized for quick reference, rather than cover-to-cover reading. At first, that was a little frustrating to me. Over the course of a week, though, I found myself returning to it again and again.
Summary: We could all use an instruction manual sometime. Just understand what you're getting.
First, it was geared towards nonfiction and journalism, rather than fiction writers or novelists. There was a lot of advice on research, etc -- very useful for a historical fiction writer, even if that wasn't the original intent.
Second, it didn't really attempt to inspire or encourage. Fine with me -- there are plenty of those books out there. My guess? This book was either written by an engineer, or the child of engineers. It read like an instruction manual.
Third, it was organized for quick reference, rather than cover-to-cover reading. At first, that was a little frustrating to me. Over the course of a week, though, I found myself returning to it again and again.
Summary: We could all use an instruction manual sometime. Just understand what you're getting.
