Writing Tools (10th Anniversary Edition): 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer

Roy Peter Clark lays out 50 of his writing tools and invites us to borrow them for our own writing toolboxes. Each writing tool is presented in a brief chapter that explains the strategy, offers examples, and ends with practice exercises. Clark reminds us that these are tools, not rules. We should work with a few of them at a time to improve our written work and our writing process. The 50 tools are grouped into four sections.In "Nuts and Bolts," Clark covers writing basics. There are no tedious specifications for comma placement or hyphenation. Instead there are effective techniques for using language "at the word, sentence and paragraph levels." These ten tools include "Establish a pattern, then give it a twist," which shows how repetition can set the reader's expectations. And how occasionally breaking the pattern highlights information and maintains interest. Another chapter, "Cut big, then small" discusses the painful task of revising by removing. Snip and cry, but snip."Part Two: Special Effects" demonstrates techniques of "economy, clarity, originality, and persuasion." The thirteen tips in this section include "Set the pace with sentence length" which shows how to influence the psychological "speed" at which a reader moves through text. "Get the name of the dog" emphasizes collecting concrete details as we do research. They allow us to move down the ladder of abstraction and bring life to descriptive writing.In Part Three: Blueprints," Clark advocates organizing our writing process as well as our documents. Two of the best tools among these sixteen show how to encourage--and manage --readers' progress. "To generate suspense, use internal cliffhangers" and whet the reading appetite with not-yet-complete information. "Place gold coins along the path" reminds to provide points of enjoyment and closure to satisfy readers. And reduce the tension created by all of those cliffhangers."Part Four: Useful Habits" closes the book with eleven long-term strategies for working writers. "Limit self-criticism in early drafts--then turn it loose during revision" balances creativity and critique. It is consistent with the two-part writing process described at length in Peter Elbow's Writing With Power. "Recruit your own support group" goes beyond standard advice about seeking feedback. Clark encourages writers to understand their own writing blind spots and needs for others' expertise. Then target helpers with matching knowledge and skills.It does not surprise when a book from an experienced writer is well-written and entertaining--as this one is. It should not surprise that the advice is useful and can improve our writing if we follow it. This is a very good book and is highly recommended. It deserves a place on your bookshelf next to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, William Zinsser's On Writing Well, Susan Bell's The Artful Edit, and Mark Kramer and Wendy Call's Telling True Stories.Feed your shelf.

I love this book. It's not preachy; it just tells you how to write better and provides useful examples. Each chapter stands on its own. As a writer, I keep it in the car for times when I have a long wait or dinner alone.

Well organized, easy to understand, superbly written, with terrific and abundant examples. This rates in the top 5 books on writing I have read. I will be going back to this resource often. Thank you Mr Clark. And the lagniappe of "Xray" chapter on Gatsby is a wonderful bonus--not to mention the other 4 bonus chapters. You have over-delivered. Any one who writes anything could benefit from this book. This book will help me become a bette writer.

lots of great nuts and bolts for writers, good reminders/prompts for those in revision. ironically (or maybe i’ve grown impatient) cold use some editing itself and be punchier

This book is, in my opinion, one of the best resources available to the budding writer, or experienced writer for that matter. Amazon on the other hand does a terrible job or rating the books physical quality. Mine was rated used-very good. It arrived on terrible condition and very far from a “very good” condition. The content is what matters, so I’m giving it five stars. Just don’t trust Amazon to be honest about what they are shipping to you.

This book teaches many of the fundamentals of writing well covering all the many aspects to make your work stand distinctively. I learnt much from this book and I consider it the best book I have read on teaching to write well and effectively.

This book is a gem! I previewed it on Amazon based on a required text listed on a student's syllabus. I serve as an enrichment tutor/mentor/coach. I was also a journalist then on to dissertation and research. I wish I had this book (by the way- easy on the eyes and stays open) when I was just starting- I could have been writing novels... and still may - A section that stands out for use with creative writing students: Tool 25- The Difference Between Reports and Stories... and the comment- don't forget the dog's name in reporting....

Purchased this book and needed it asap. Sad it arrived dirty and pages folded. Like the saying..."can't judge a book by its cover"!

Esse livro é a verdadeira bíblia do escritor! Logo na primeira página, na introdução, o autor já te ensina coisas preciosíssimas. Pra mim é o livro de escrita mais direto, objetivo, prático e fácil de entender e aplicar. Recomendo mil vezes! Agora a impressão do livro em si é horrível, as páginas são como papel jornal, a capa é pouco mais grossa que um sulfite. A qualidade da edição é bem baixa, mas o conteúdo é tão bom que eu acho que vale a pena ter em casa e carregar pra todo lado de qualquer jeito.

There is a lot to learn for new writers - this is the perfect help!

Strumenti, non regole. Clark crede che tutti possano scrivere bene con i giusti strumenti e li racconta in questo libro. Essenziale per scrittori e per giornalisti.

“Practice doesn’t make perfect — it makes permanent.”I forget who wrote that, but it’s a good reminder that you can practice something without really improving.Writing Tools has inspired me to seek out and disassemble my poorly built writing habits, and to remake them with better materials.One of my favourite tools from the book is what Roy Peter Clark refers to as the Ladder of Abstraction.At the bottom of the ladder we find concrete language: tables and chairs, hard packed snow, and slippery salamanders. At the top of the ladder we find abstract language: divine beauty, manic depression, and heartfelt apologies.To keep the reader reading, avoid spending too much time in one spot on the ladder. Move up and down it, and avoid the middle where murky obscure language will confuse the reader and cause them to lose interest.Writing has turned out to be a bigger challenge than I expected when I first sat down to write my book; a challenge that’s turning out to be a very fun journey of learning.I will keep Writing Tools close for future reference. Highly recommend.

I am half way through the book and learning that which I do not know.