Writers Books

Anna Quindlen, Dave Barry, and Roz Chast are brilliant, and I'm one of those people who uses such an adjective mighty sparingly. Like any anthology, this collection is, of course, uneven, but in general, it helps parents of teens laugh, feel less alone, and recognize what they are and are not doing right--and that's worth a lot!

Thirty writers offer their wisdom, humor and insights on the challenges of parenting teens in I Wanna Be Sedated: 30 Writers On Parenting Teenagers. Writings come from many notable literary sources, from columnist/humorist Dave Barry to novelist Barbara Kingsolver and more. Each presents their own stories of experiences with teens; from handling sexual issues to racial profiling, drinking parties and more. A 'must' for any parents facing the teen years.

Reading this book came at a time I was feeling overwhelmed with teenage issues and it gave me a sense of perspective that I sorely needed.

I read this book in one sitting and was delighted. This book offers a smorgasbord of honest views in re parenting teens/young adults and offered refreshing insights. I was delighted to see two of my favorite authors, Joyce Maynard and Louise Erdrich among those included in this book. Each author has helped shed even more light on an interesting aspect of their lives.

The essay format personalized the accounts and made the reader feel included. Joyce Maynard, a gifted writer included an essay about her son's girlfriend spending the night. Her essay was unflinchingly honest; clear, sharp and direct as are all her works. That is what makes them outstanding and effective. I like the honest conversations she had with her three children and how she took a healthy and honest approach to sex and sexuality. To her credit, she taught them the correct names for genitals instead of silly, infantile euphemisms. One funny anecdote she shared was when her youngest child, then 4, sang about vaginas on a city bus, much to the consternation of his fellow passengers. I like the way she responded and kept communication lines open for her children.

Erdrich's account of her daughter's driving was touching and funny. One can almost feel the snow and ice as they navigate the icy streets of Minnesota. The inclusion of fathers' essays helped make for a nice balance and richer picture. This book is a beautiful mosiac, pieced together by the brilliant works of each author.

I don't know if I feel better or worse after reading this incredible book. I could see myself and my teenagers in so many of the stories. I'd laugh, I'd tear up, I'd holler to one of my three teens to "listen to this, sounds like us (you, me)"
This is must reading for every parent of teens, it is our lives. No family is perfect, nor even close, but it's so easy to think everyone else has it easier than we do.
We all have our struggles, most mutter through somehow.
It's just the getting there that's so roller-coaster.
Teenagers are so roller-coaster.
Great book.

It has been said of Texas politics that it is a blood sport. That is certainly true in this engrossing second novel from author Robert E. Armstrong. Once again, he relies on his vast experience to bring back Houston Veterinarian Dr. Duncan MacDonell. It's very nice for this reader to have him back as he is quickly becoming a good friend.

As head of the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care in Houston, Texas, Dr. MacDonell is still in charge after the events depicted in the first book, "Canis." While there has been a shakeup and his new boss who wants nothing to do with the department feels safer staying as far away as possible, Dr. Armstrong and his office are still burdened with the modern day problems of a shortage of qualified and competent staff, financial woes, and unwanted pets. Add to that, a simple lack of appreciation for his necessary job and Dr. Macdonald is just a bit fed up and then his problems suddenly get massively worse.

Dr. MacDonell is in the parking lot of the posh Kingswood Country Club one summer evening waiting for his wife as attendees of a $500 a plate political fundraiser dinner begin to leave. Various dignitaries and others leave with their groups and police escorts quietly into the early summer night until someone starts screaming that the Governor needs a doctor. The Governor, Pat Sawyer, is the former Governor of New Jersey who is just days away from in all likelihood accepting his party's nomination for President in Dallas during the convention. In the meantime, he has been viscously mauled by something and is loosing blood rapidly.

MacDonell treats him as best as he can while Sawyer explains that he needed some time alone and had just sat down in his car when he was attacked. He thinks it was a Bobcat or something but is so traumatized by the viscous attack he isn't sure. Dr. MacDonell soon manages to control his bleeding and then is moved out of the way when the Paramedics arrive. MacDonell checks the car and sees a viscous animal acting berserk. But it isn't a Bobcat but instead a housecat which might have rabies.

While initial tests on the cat come up negative and Governor Sawyer seems to recover, his health soon begins to take a nosedive. As soon as Governor Sawyer becomes deathly and terminally ill with no hope of recovery, Dr. MacDonell becomes the murder suspect in the eyes of various law enforcement types. Either he was grossly incompetent and didn't handle things correctly or he was totally involved and orchestrating events in the eyes of law enforcement and CDC staff investigating the case. While seeking to clear his good name and keep his office intact under a mounting political firestorm, Dr. MacDonell begins to work the case. He begins to suspect that a deep and abiding personal hatred by someone closest to Sawyer just might have been the motivation to kill. That person is still motivated and as so many others have found out over the years, the cover-up is always messier than the original crime itself.

This is another excellent book in this new series and another pleasurable read. In this author's novels, when people die, they die in unusual and interesting ways and this novel repeats that pattern. The author neatly brings the reader into his world and while informing the reader on various issues, manages to deftly mix in a story with a complex mystery. In so doing, the author demonstrates his ability to follow the old rule about writing what he knows while at the same time, making a very good book. Like his first book "Canis," this is another non-stop murder mystery full of action, complicated characters and nifty plotting, which results in another fine page turning read.

I met and quickly warmed up to Dr. Duncan MacDonell in CANIS. Now he returns in a story about rabid cats. A politician is attacked by a cat and although tests on the animal are negative, the governor still dies of rabies. Was it an unfortunate accident or was the governor murdered? City politics and budget problems continue to plague MacDonell. To complicate matters further, the FBI suspects foul play by MacDonell or someone on his staff. INDEX OF SUSPICION is a well-written, intriguing mystery. The characters are believable and dialogue sizzles. But you get more than just an entertaining read. As in CANIS, Bob Armstrong's expertise shines through. He continues to educate his readers, this time on rabies and how it can be contracted (you don't have to be bitten by a rabid animal), as well as life in the trenches at an Animal Control Center. This was an excellent follow-up in a great series.

Dr. Duncan MacDonell, a Veterinarian, finds himself smack dab in the middle of another mystery. When a man is literally shredded in his car by a psycho cat, Dr. MacDonell is there to save his life and get the animal

out of the car. What at first just seems a bizarre incident, quickly escalates into political intrigue. Because it wasn't just any man that was being slashed by a raving cat. It was the Governor.

Who could be behind such an atrocious attack? What kind of monster could

set something like this up? The plot gets thicker and the suspects are out in droves. I couldn't figure this one out till the end and every exciting page kept me up late at night in anticipation.

Robert Armstrong has written his second gripping thriller. I was excited

to see that he continued with the same main characters from Canis and stepped up the intrigue in INDEX OF SUSPICION. I really enjoy his way with dialogue and the life experiences he must draw upon to give the reader a

sense of the atrocities that some animals have to endure during their short lives. I truly enjoyed INDEX OF SUSPICION for it's great writing, excellent information and exciting storyline!

Index Of Suspicion
By Robert Armstrong

This is the second in the series about veterinarian Duncan MacDonell and his wife Jeannie set in Texas. This story opens with the governor being attacked by a cat in his limo. From there it is all excitement and a wonderful look into the world of veterinary science. I particularly enjoyed the way the author
showed Texas and the world of the forensic science as used by Dr. MacDonell. I also found it refreshing to have a protag with a wife where there was no ... hanky panky going on behind her back. These two people were very in tune with each other and as I said that was a refreshing change from the usual hi jinks of main characters. I am not very good at writing reviews because I am afraid of giving away too much of the story. I will say this, there are certainly enough bad guys and an interesting plot to keep you interested but if you like a good story and good people as the star of the story you will like this book. I highly recommend it.

Dr. Robert Armstrong is a retired veterinarian, and held the post of animal control officer for the health department in Houston, Texas for ten years. He also served in the Air Force veterinary corps and for three years served as director of medical readiness for the Air Force's European Command. He was based in Southeast Asia and Germany, working with military dogs.

In his follow up to CANIS, his first mystery featuring Dr. Duncan MacDonell, politics, smuggling, and veterinary medicine all meet in a political conspiracy that involves death of a political candidate by what appears to be a rabid cat. Duncan MacDonell happens to be attending a Republican $500 per plate fundraiser for their candidate, Patrick Sawyer. When Sawyer gets into his limo to leave the party, he is viciously attacked by a cat. MacDonell is on the scene, and immediately orders rabies testing done on the offending feline:

"MacDonell scratched his chin. After mulling it over all night he expected the worst, and now he couldn't believe what he had just heard. 'Tell you what,' he said after some reflection, 'run it again and ship a chunk of the hippocampus up to Austin on Monday for mouse inoculation, just to be on the safe side.' 'Run it again?' Aaron whined. 'Run it again,' MacDonell repeated. 'Negative is negative, Doc,' Aaron said. He sounded sober. 'I'm not questioning your result, Johnny.' 'Sounds like it to me. And we usually only do mice if we suspect a false positive.' 'This isn't a usual situation, John. I saw the cat. It was flaming.'"

Armstrong's MacDonell is up against the usual bureaucracy when the candidate dies of rabies, who are only interested in covering their arses instead of getting to the bottom of the conspiracy. Mac is an instantly likeable character, with flaws and brilliance, happily working alongside a wife who is as much of a whiz with a pistol as she is in the kitchen. Set in Houston, Texas, MacDonell shows the reader what life is like in Texas, from the politics to the cooking. In Texas time, politics is gaining political correctness as MacDonell fights for justice against some rich and vindictive opponents. This is an intense and suspense-laden read.

Love this book and have loved reading Call of the Wild, since I was 9 or 10.
I also recommend the other collection because it has a few this one doesn't. The Portable Jack London (Viking Portable Library) The thing I liked in addition are the old letters he wrote. Cool reflection and time travel to that time period.

Novels and Stories was the first of a two volume set that I scored for cheap on ebay a few years ago. The second, Novels and Social writings concentrates on his political/social novels and essays while this one is comprised of his Alaskan and sea bearing adventure stories.

This book weighs in at over 1000 pages and includes three GREAT novels in Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf and White Fang as well as multitudes of his short stories.

I can't say enough about how much I love Londons writings and how much admiration I have for him as a man as well. I've read Call of the Wild about every two years or so since the first time I read it as a child and I get more out of it every time I re-read it. His adventure stories on one level are just great red blooded adventure stories that anyone who has any heart or spirit would enjoy and there is a deeper level to London as well. His stories are highly spiritual if you are able to look at them on another level. Although thats something that you have to "feel" from within I suppose.

After reading this book for school, (not that I was forced to) I gave it a 4/5 star rating. It was excellent when it came to the setting of the story. Even though it is a very short, it crams alot of suspensfull and interesting moments into 100 some odd pages. This book is quite good and page turning. I highly recommend it to readers who like a mix of reality and fantasy in one. Masterful piece of writing.

You can't lump too many people into the same sphere with London...Twain, Poe, and Lovecraft are a few that spring to mind. He's an American Titan, and he gets the fawning treatment you'd expect from the Library of America in this exemplary, extraordinary, green-registered book.

Call of the Wild is a page-turning yarn about a dog that becomes a wolf. It's listed on the MLA 100, but any competent kid of ten could tackle it...and enjoy it.

White Fang is a canine bildungsroman that inverts the plot of Call of the Wild, with the wolf becoming a dog. Also a page-turner, also something a kid would read without having to be coerced, and possessed of a truly classic scene where White Fang fights a bulldog.

The Klondike Short Stories are all superb--some people think London's metier was the short story rather than the novel--with Batard being a personal favorite.

The Sea-Wolf is a work of genius...until it all comes crashing down with the introduction of Maud Brewster, and the escape to Endeavour Island. What had heretofore been a truly transcendent work of art transmogrifies into a clunky, melodramatic, and tedious chore, where London's love of sailing jargon threatens to overwhelm the reader.

The Selected Short Stories show that London wasn't just a Yukon guy...he had some other arrows in his quiver. A few stories demonstrate his--at the time--devout socialism, which lasted up until he himself got rich. The Apostate is the weakest of these, but The Strength of the Strong is a pretty good allegory for fin-de-siecle capitalism, with all its gory excesses. London also writes convincingly about such diverse topics as boxing, South Sea cannibals, and straight-up science fiction.

This book of books is excellent, and any American who fancies himself a lover of literature would be remiss in not reading it.

This book was really good, but I believe that White Fang was better. Many settings took place, but I will start with the main ones. The first setting in this book was Judge Millers Mansion. The second is the dog breakers place, in which Buck (the main character, a dog,) learns the "law of Club and Fang." The third place is where Buck learns the method of husky fighting, and because the other dog died, he lived a long and well-lived life. The first major event in this book is when a person steals Buck from Judge Miller, and he is starved and strangled and is thrown in a shed to wait for a train to the dog breaker. There, he is introduced to the primitive law of club and fang. After that, he, and a Newfoundland, are taken to Alaska. There, he is introduced to the method of Husky Fighting, and then is put into the harness, and is put to work on the mushing sled. The next major event is when Buck is taken of his first mushing trip in the wild. There he learns how to keep warm in the harsh winters by digging into the snow and having your body heat heat up the space. The next area is when Buck and Spitz finally fight to the death, and Buck takes the position of lead dog on the mushing track. Finally, the last major setting is when Buck finaly turns to the wild, and he attacks the YeeHats with a vengance, because they had killed his LOVED master. The conflict in this book is Buck is a spoilled rotten dog, until he reaches the North and finds that he has wild ancestors. They eventually take over Buck and he lives with the wild.

If you want to love life, read this book; if you want to hate life, read this book, too. It makes you a hero.

Just like many of the readers, I first read it about ten years ago and surely it has since remained the best book I've ever read in my life. As a keen lover of music, I have experienced, am experiencing and will experience how music of Beethoven's gives me bravery and strength during dark and weak period of life. This book, too, certainly is the counterpart that will be accompanying me for life, sublimating my soul and give me
power and strength.

I read this book when I was in high school. All summer nights in 1994!! I even felt bad as I progressed through the pages as if the book was a bag of cookies. Ideal, spiritual, as pure as the sound of a wood wind instrument.

A decade later I revisited this book this summer. The protagonist were no more as inspirational as before. First of all this Jean Christophe person is such a super moral man that I don't see any reality in his character. It is hard to imagine that Beethoven was such a character.( Another book by the same author. See how I was intrigued then.) Maybe I'm wrong. People born before WW2 could have lived different lives than our own.

Jean-Christophe is a very touching story that does indeed prove the saying above.Jean Christophe may be the idea of a rascal, evil and full of hatred to the rich, but he's just a desperate man in need of comfort, of peace, and most of all, of appreciation. It just-in it's persuasive way-forces you to look upon the dirty, 'unworthy' ones with a new light, with pity-not disgust. The language simply cools down the heart like a mountain-full of ice by the beauty of it. And it's hatred for the world behind the mask just burns your heart as it did with Christophe. Down with pretense! Down with politeness! All in all, the tragedy of this impatient man who found peace in death will either pierce your heart with enlightment or choke you with laughter. Be it a long lecture, a 1600+ pages of enlightment, a rebellion, this is not a master of the great arts you will soon forget.

I read it translated in Korean about 12 years ago. Though i felt it was somewhat boring at that time, i couldn't put it down, so i persisted. And now i know the book has been serving all these years as a formative novel to me. I am afraid I don't remember the details, but surely i remember how absolutely it absorbed me and arrested me. I want to get a copy of it now and read it again, for now I am sure i will be fully enjoying it, even loving the memory of boredom it gave me when i was a novice and dull reader. So sad it is out of print.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a must read for the ones interested in his life as well as in his writings.

This book of letters tells the story of Steinbeck's life. As his third- wife the book's co- editor Elaine Steinbeck makes clear in her introduction Steinbeck was a life- long letter-writer. Steinbeck usually started his day writing letters to his friends, and business- associates. They were the warm-up for his real writing.
Steinbeck speaks frequently in these letters of his love of writing. He writes with a refreshing frankness and directness. The book tells in no doubt an incomplete way the story of his struggle for literary success, of his three marriages, of his relation to his parents, children and a number of friends.
Steinbeck seems in these letters a fundamentally decent, loyal , hardworking person. However one of the interesting elements in the letters is seeing how his relation to certain people, most notably his wives, changes in time. His first wife Carole in the early years is described and written about almost exclusively in superlatives. After his divorce from her he speaks about those years as ones in which each was angry at the other much of the time. His second wife, the mother of his children left him after five years, and his initial enthusiasm for her naturally cooled. Though he vowed not to marry again when he met Elaine SCott, who was then the wife of the actor Zachary Scott he found apparently the great love of his life. In one especially moving letter he will thank her for their life together and for her especially good relation to his two sons. Another exceptionally good letter is written to Elaine's daughter who is about to marry. His advice to her again shows him to be caring and non- conventionally wise.
One especially notable set of letters are those he wrote to his lifelong friend Carlton A. Sheffeld( Duke). Another are those to his publisher Pascal (Pat)Covici.
I have never been a special fan of Steinbeck, but reading these letters I have a sense I somehow did not fully appreciate his work. So these letters will probably move me to reading more of his work.

Steinbeck left an autobiography of sorts when he died, a collection of personal letters to his friends. His widow and his friend worked together to gather the letters from everyone they could. They edited them for clarity and published them in chronological order.

The result is the personal story of a very creative, complex writer who worked every day with his hands. When he wasn't writing novels using pencils and a legal pad, he was mending the fence or fixing the roof. He loved people as much as he loved solitude, so he began each day by reaching out with these letters to his friends around the world. He talked about his surroundings and his thoughts and his ongoing projects.

All of this would be enough to make a wonderful book, but there's the added benefit of Steinbeck's writing style. Steinbeck used as few words as possible, always trying for a poetic effect without pretension. He wanted to be honest and accurate, but he knew the value of capturing an image or feeling with a colorful use of words. As a result, this massive book is a pleasure to read, from start to finish. Steinbeck's writing style keeps you interested but never overwhelmed.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed a few Steinbeck novels. Aspiring writers should read it, as well. When you're done, read the Steinbeck chapter in 'Alcohol and the Writer' and Jackson Benson's books on Steinbeck. You'll be glad you did.

If you appreciate the art of letter writing, you'll be delighted with this collection of letters from John Steinbeck.

Wow! can this man, write. But perhaps "write" is the wrong term - "think" is better. Wow! can this man think. And then he is able to express those thoughts in a clear, eloquent and, most of all, honest way that is a treat to read.

The book begins with a letter from the young, penniless author to a friend. At the time, Steinbeck was in isolation when he took a job as the winter caretaker of a lodge in Lake Tahoe. From there, he takes us along on a life journey through three marriages, financial success that always made him uncomfortable, fame that he often detested, Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, adventure in settings from the Sea of Cortez to Saigon.

The insights are astounding. His lack of pretension in the midst of his success amazes.

Here was a sensitive, often gruff but completely honest man who was not afraid to reveal himself in total to the friends he cherished.

Can't put it down in any sense. This collection goes right through Steinbeck's life, from his twenties into old age, and contains many letters to key people in his life interspersed with helpful commentaries by his wife to give the reader a sense of what Steinbeck was facing when he wrote. Highly recommended, and very moving in many places, whether humorous, joyful, or passionately angry.

"I learn that all of my manuscripts have been rejected three or four times since I last heard. It is a nice thing to know that so many people are reading my books. That is one way of getting an audience." -- JS

"One very funny thing. Hotel clerks here [Monterey] are being instructed to tell guests that there is no Tortilla Flat. The Chamber of Commerce does not like my poor efforts, I guess. But there is one all right, and they know it." -- JS in the years before the Chamber of Commerce boosted Cannery Row as a tourist shrine

"I'm trying to write history while it is happening and I don't want to be wrong." -- JS before penning the Grapes of Wrath

Don't lend it to a friend, guard it with your life! Ms. Goldberg's drawings are wondrous. I want to say that they remind me of David Hockney's work - but that wouldn't quite do it. Because her style is hers alone and it's magical! The accompanying text throughout gives you an understanding of her drawings - and how she's able to unleash that part of her creativity - and have FUN! I never fail to read the latest Natalie Goldberg book - her insights, her truthfulness about her struggles help me realize that we're all artists. Some of us are just a little freer and further along than the rest. Thank goodness Natalie keeps writing to show us paths that she's hewn for herself.

I am reading and drawing. I am writing and here in southern New Mexico, Alamogordo all by myself. I am sooo glad she found art to be a good tool for seeing detail. I'm seeing differently.
I have seen color all my life but been afraid to express it. I grew up parttime in Maryland. The East Coast has its own flavor, but out West we command another kind of beauty. Natalies writings have been a good refresher for me. I'm excited to do a workshop up in Taos. Thanks.

I can only echo the other rave reviews: This book is a must-own (not just a must-read) if you're an artist, a writer, or both. Even if you can't draw a stick figure, but have always wanted to be an artist, this book will set you on the path to creative expression. Don't just wish to be an artist... get this book, and start painting!

Natalie's paintings are dazzling...she seems to have caught the emotional color of her subjects, the inner dance of things...it's essential magic. In the chapter titled "How I Paint", she says: " I noticed that the blue of my paints wasn't blue enough to get the intensity of that New Mexico sky. I painted the sky red instead. I painted Jazz yellow. He was a brown dog, but yellow expressed him better. Color became fluid".

There's a chapter on her father, with 7 paintings of him, the first from '78, the last, '98...wonderful portraits, with a sadness in them, despite the vivid colors.
Another chapter, "A Deep Source of my Writing", is about how her writing and painting are interrelated.

She writes of her European travels, her visits to the Musee Matisse, Cezanne's studio, the Kafka Museum, and so much more...with an easy flow that makes reading a pleasure, but it's the paintings that captivate me.

Her interiors are incredible..ordinary places like bathrooms and kitchens, turned into playgrounds of glorious color...her buildings and outdoor scenes are also amazing (her sense of perspective is fabulous !), but I love her cars best of all. If I could own one painting, it would be the green Chevy truck on page 22. It seems to have a face, with a side window that's winking at me.

This is a very special book, so full of life and love. It makes me laugh, inspires me, gives me hope and warms my heart.

I had never heard of Natalie Goldberg before this book was mentioned casually in an online journaling group. But the comment peaked my interest and I surely was not disappointed! I read the entire book in one sitting (during the first major snowstorm of '05!) There were many "ah ha" moments...and I especially enjoyed the chapter about her father...very emotionally moving and insightful. Highly recommended if you do visual art and are curious about what propels you.

Sherry Healy, is the author of this book, although she uses the name Shealy. Her style of instruction-type chapters help make the psychic adventure an easy one.

Those interested in knowing more about the methods of a psychic will find this an interesting read. The perspective of the book is from the point of view of the psychic author. Sherry seems to know much of psychic work. Sharing personal experiences allows the reader to get a closer look at the inner vissions of a psychic. Spirit guides, soul mate and dreams are a main topic followed by a section of simple divination.

This book has helped me to augment my client base. I enjoy adding the alternative relaxation offered in this manuscript. It helps the ceos and executives I work with. Otherwise, they would never find inner peace.

It has come to my attention, life is as good as we make it. The first part of this book teaches about the realms of the after life. Through this information I have been finding my true self. I have learned to focus my attention upon that which I desire. The realms are helpful. I most enjoyed reading about the angelic realm. I have learned to access and work with these creatures. Another good chapter is designed to help you learn to read your own future or fortune. I don't see this author as a fortune teller; in fact she seems to dislike the term but she is intuitive and has helped me to be intuitive as well. I plan to have an energy session or therapy with this author, sHEALy. She teaches that moving ones energy is helpful to moving ones attitude toward that which is wanted in life. Althoug she is an intuitive reader first before she is anything else, I find her healings most powerful. The workbook was interesting. It was easy to follow because through out the book Shealy shares her own life experiences. She has seen spirits, angels, auras, energy from the human body and has learned to help others see these things too. I would like to practice all of the intuition and healing exercises found in this book. I think this author is the real thing. I hear she works from the East Coast. I would like to have a reading soon.

I read often and found this book to be one of the best on the topic of intuition. If you want to read about intuition or miracles and magical happenings, this is the book for you. I recommend it!!!

As of 1999 my client base continues to grow. A life coach, my life's calling, is more than the rational and day-to-day exploits of business and community. There is a need to suggest to clients the fruits of life, the dreams and imaginations of the world. I use this book to enhance and find that quality within each CEO, AVP, high-level executive I meet and councel. This book, an alternative approach to the realms of relaxation, has brought a richness to my work that I have, as sHEALy says "only dreamed."

"Make Your Words Work" is my favorite referrence book on writing. By applying the techniques taught by Gary Provost, I have reduced the words in my novel, "Where Seagulls Fly" to 68,500 (originally 75,000).

Most books about writing tell you to do this and that. But you really don't understand how. This book take you down to the ground with writing well in many aspects. Sometimes it is things you already know if you are a writer with some experience, but you feel proud to how found out that yourself because he writes so nice. But mostly you really understand how to make the manuscript better in a lot of aspects. I have now read the book and a lot of my writing friends here in Sweden are eager to borrow it from me before they buy their own copy.

This is an excellent how-to book, well-worth having. However, do not buy it if you already have Provost's "Beyond Style." "Make Your Words Work" is nothing but a (barely) repackaged version of "Beyond Style," with hardly any useful new material. Shamefully, nothing in "Make Your Words Work" references or even hints at its parentage. This book should have been entitled "Beyond Style, Second Edition."

If I am able to write, it is all because of "Make Your Words Work."

Provost sets the tone of this book from the very first page when he asks the question "Can writing be taught?" and answers with "No, throw this book away."

This book taught me real methods for writing and editing what I write.

Provost also includes many exercises that aren't boring, and actually quickly enforce the point he is making in the chapters.

I've owned this book since 1991 and it is a book that I continually reference. And it's not only a great book of information, but it is also a great read.
Be thankful that this book is still available and buy it as soon as possible.

"Our English teachers were well-meaning, most of them, but they were hired to teach us good grammar, not good writing." - Gary Provost

Make Your Words Work is one of those books you're hesitant to pick up, thinking you're going to be bored with grammar, and instead find a delightful, informative read.

But don't take my word for it - listen to Provost himself: "Do you know what modal auxiliaries are? Can you explain the difference between determiners and adjectivals? I sure as heck can't, and I've sold sixteen books and a thousand short pieces."

Provost writes with a breezy, personal style, always clear and concise and often witty. It's as much about non-fiction as fiction, so you get a well-rounded set of tools you can adapt to any project you tackle. Provost also knows to avoid the tedium of long stretches of text, and so he breaks up each chapter into sections just a page or two long, with exercises, Coffee Breaks, and examples from TV and movies added in as well. It also doesn't hurt that the print is large and the layout easy to read, or that many of the chapters first appeared in Provost's articles for Writer's Digest.

Many books on writing just go on and on about vague topics like Theme, all airy philosophy, but Provost caters to none of that. He cuts the chatter and gives you what you need. It's the difference between a professor lecturing on the role of photography in the modern world and an actual photojournalist taking you out to a baseball game and saying, "This is how you set the shutter speed, and for sports you want it at 1/500th to freeze the action."

For an example of that, take Chapter Thirteen, on Tension. He starts with Find Tense Words (words of delay, danger, urgency, and fear, with examples of each), then teaches you how to Arrange Sentences with Tension in Mind - "That's a nice enough little paragraph. There's nothing terribly wrong with it, but there's no tension in it because it answers all your questions before you have a chance to ask them." Next he moves onto how to Milk the Tension (with exercises), and then brings up Tension in Non-Fiction, Surface Tension - "With description, remember that a tree is a lot more interesting if there might be an Indian hiding behind it," and finally tops it off with Pulling the Tension Cord.

And it's the same with each chapter, from Music to Pace to Voices to Viewpoint.

In the end, the book comes off like an informal, one-to-one talk with someone willing to share their many years of experience in the fields of both fiction and non-fiction. So grab some coffee and sit down with Gary - you'll enjoy the visit.

I've always felt this book had an unfortunate title and may have done much better without the "Screenwriter" addendum. The fact is that the advice and exercises that Seger gives is germane to all writers - the novelist, short story writer, as well as the screenwriter.

The "Creativity Workbook" aspect is a true title, however. This is a wonderful book for those of you who feel you're suffering from writer's block. The only solution, of course, is to just write. Even if you're writing "I don't know what to write...this is awful...I have no idea what to write..." still do it. Eventually you'll have a break through. Seger hides this simple fact into her ingenious exercises, giving you situation after to situation to write about, all the while developing characters and plot ideas.

Her focus is to truly help you develop as a writer, not merely beef up your script with cheap, dime-a-dozen plot methods. In that aspect, this book is rather unique and very successful. One of the better writing books available.

Linda Seger offers a number of ways to re-start the creative process; if only one of them works for you, the book is worth it.

Just reading through the exercises in this book was enough to get me through a serious case of writer's block. She includes an entire chapter on tapping into your religious/spiritual side to flesh out characters and deepen plot, but don't worry: If that won't work for you, she suggests skipping ahead -- there are plenty more idea-provoking suggestions to come.

It's a resource to turn to again and again, whenever a dead end looms.

This book combines craft and creativity and provides writers with the knowledge necessary to write at the highest artistic level. The exercises within can be reused time and again and push a writer to think outside the box.

Not a paint-by-numbers approach, instead this author guides you into unlocking and strengthening your own, original voice.

What are you waiting for? This is a great resource!

I've found so much inspiration in Making a Good Writer Great. Seger's words have helped me break through that brick wall. She is truly a light to see by. I can call myself a screenwriter once again.

I love and collect books on creativity and problem solving. One of my favorites is Dr. Linda Seger's, Making a Good Writer Great: A Creative Workbook for Screenwriters. The title, unfortunately, is too narrow for its own good. It should be: Unleashing Your Creative Genius: Screenwriting as a Metaphor for World Peace...or something just as ostentatious. I'm serious. First, using Linda's techniques just replace all forms of the term "writer" for whatever job you're in: "engineer," "teacher," "mother," "assembler," "unemployed," or "politician." (On second thought, strike that last example.) Second, insert YOURSELF as the protagonist of YOUR PERSONAL story. Third, pick the problem you're having difficulty solving. And finally, using Linda's techniques and exercises creatively think your way to a solution just as you would the fictional character in a story. The problems that face all of us--writer, repressed child, or okay, even world leader--can be solved by using Linda's 12-step program. Here they are in my own words. 1. Discover your mission (or goal). 2. Articulate your values. 3. List the obstacles. 4. Plot turning points around the obstacles. 5. Stick to your passions. 6. Master your powers of observation. 7. Attach meaning to your experiences. 8. Accept your flaws as reasons to persevere. 9. Leverage the opposing forces. 10. Purpose to change the world. 11. Ask God for supernatural inspiration. And 12. Use feedback to ever improve. Linda's book is a winning tool for everyone...including writers.

Linda's writing was very helpful in the writing of my own book on screenwriting published by Michael Wiese Productions: THE MORAL PREMISE: Harnessing Virtue and Vice for Box Office Success.

I checked this out from the library for my husband; he loved it so much I planned to buy it for him. Meanwhile my father-in-law came for a visit and loved it so much he wouldn't put it down... So, I ended up buying two books; one for each of them. Neither could put it down and said how they would want to read it over and over. My two favorite men in my life absolutely LOVE this book. Also, it is a great add to his growing collection of Johnny Cash books and music. It adds an important part of who is was. Also, it was very interesting to find out what an educated Christian he was; in detail.

Anyone familiar with the tenets of Christianity know the conversion story of the apostle Paul, a persecutor of Christians, who came to faith in Jesus. After his conversion he became one of the early church's biggest missionaries, converting hundreds upon thousands and building churches wherever he visited. His life story is astounding, and Johnny Cash has done a remarkable job in telling his story in "Man of White", a fictional account of the life of Paul.

"Man in White" paints an overwhelmingly realistic portrait of Saul of Tarsus, a zealous Jew who felt called to persecute his fellow Jews who had turned to faith in Jesus. His conversion and blinding on the road to Damascus changes his life; his encounter with the Man in White affirming that his mission in life is not one of persecution but of love. Cash's narrative is fast-paced, Biblically grounded and well-written. The reader is swept into the time and trials of the early Christians, the deadly persecutions they suffered and the fearlessness they had to have in order to give their lives over to Christ. Cash has created a backstory for the apostle Paul that fills in the gaps with clarity and intuition, a daring task for anyone, but one that Cash accomplishes with seeming ease.

For those familiar with Johnny Cash only through his music and his history of drug problems, it may seem strange that he chose to write a novel about the apostle Paul. Yet one could draw parallels between what Cash went through to overcome his demons and finally get his life on track, with what Paul went through as he tried to run away from the Lord. Cash is a fitting author for this novel because he knew all about running away from a calling; this novel ate away at him for years before he was able to finish it. He didn't think himself worthy to write about Paul, struggled with the conversion scene, until he too had a dream about a vision on a road. Johnny Cash was the "Man in Black" who wore that color for "those who never read / or listened to the words that Jesus said", and talks straight to those who would listen through the "Man in White".

I think Johnny Cash did a tremendous amount of research & thought to write this novel of the Apostle Paul. I was impressed how Cash put it into simple words, easily understood in the flow of the very interesting story line.

This helps put the greatest evangelist in a human perspective. I would highly recogmend it to any Christian or any Johnny Cash fan. Johnny Cash's autobiography "Man In Black" is also an incredible book. Bottom line, Johnny Cash was a wonderful author, not to mention an incredible musician.

I would not call myself a huge fan of Johnny Cash, but I'm certainly a huge fan of this book and its story. Making direct application of Biblical characters is the whole point of the Biblical characters in the first place. If we don't live vicariously through ancient personalities we don't learn a thing from them. Mr. Cash draws an uncanny parallel between himself and the converted Paul. He too had a blinding flash of the obvious. I am so impressed when a celebrity shares his/her faith in Christ unashamedly with no intent to criticize or for self-gain. The direct connection with scriptures teaches life changing experiences.