Language Arts Books

That quote, from this book, was developed for me personally: I know everything worth knowing, and more!

Latin is in baby! This book is basically"The Wit and Wisdom of Ancient Rome" presented in English and Latin. It's full of short snappy quotes that you can drop whenever a line from Shakespeare might seem trite. It's not a text or manual but it can be used in classrooms to mix things up a bit. The ancient Romans were funny at times and students can appreciate this. Let your students go over this book and then have them translate current phrases into Latin.I recommend this to anyone who likes or teaches ancient history or the latin language.

This book can be used for many things. I like to e-mail people at work and finish with a Latin phrase, which makes them think 'he's smart'! (or a smart ar#e!)
There are many books on Latin, but this one is just full of phrase's that 'Stiff' text books would take a week to work out, like 'Patris est filius' or 'A chip off the old block' (literally - 'he is his father's son'). Just as good for a quick flick or end to end reading!
p.s. Another good book is 'Veni, Vidi, Vici' ISBN 0-06-273365-6 also by Eugene Ehrlich (the better of the 2, i think).

Eugene Ehrlich's 'Amo, Amas, Amat and More' is a wonderful shorthand guide to Latin literacy for those who are struggling with Latin, or those of us who had a lot of Latin but little use since our last conjugation, er, um, examination.

Gives new meaning to 'conjugal visit' now, doesn't it? (Well, look it up for the distinctions.)

There is a very interesting introduction by William F. Buckley, Jr., who has been known to drop the odd Latinate phrase here or there in writing or speech. 'I suppose I am asked [to write this introduction] because the few Latin phrases I am comfortable with I tend to use without apology,' Buckley writes. He uses Latin phrases, he says, 'that cling to life because they seem to perform useful duties without any challenger rising up to take their place in English.' But, Buckley states, 'Probably the principal Latin-killer this side of the Huns was Vatican II.' With the end of use of Latin by Roman Catholic church, Latin became an almost exclusively academic pursuit, and then most often in 'useful' segments--i.e., legal Latin, medical Latin, etc.

This book is arranged as an encyclopedic dictionary of sorts -- there is an entry, including pronunciation (do you know if Latin uses a hard c or hard g, for instance, without looking?). Ehrlich also puts in literary examples of how the Latin phrase has come to be known in English (which is sometimes something apart from its original Latin meaning).

I give you the example used in my title as an sample entry:

carpe diem
KAHR-peh DEE-em
enjoy, enjoy

This famous advice, literally 'seize the day', is from Horace's Odes. The full thought is carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero (kwahm MIH-nih-muum KRAY-duu-lah PAW-ster-oh), which may be translated as 'enjoy today, trusting little in tomorrow'. Thus, carpe diem from ancient times until the present has been advice often and variously expressed: Enjoy yourself while you have the chance; eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; make hay while the sun shines; enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. In another century carpe diem was also an exhortation to maidens to give up their virginity and enjoy all the pleasures of life.

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

So, if your motto is omne ignotum pro magnifico est a la Tacitus, and you'd like a little less unknown in your life, or simply wish to amaze your friends, this book is for you. I'm not the advocatus diaboli here, and I certainly won't give this book the pollice verso, so rush to your nearest scriptorium now and find this scroll, er, um, book.

This is an excellent book! It is a great way to build vocabulary and learn those pesky endings. It also conatins many words of wisdom and wit. Using these phrases in writitng and speech will give you a flair of sophistication. This book taught me my favourite quote, from Horace "Dulce et decorem est pro patria mori" "There is no greater honour than to die for ones country" Being a die-hard Americo-Unian, I believe that! I reccomend this book to all lovers of Latin

Ayn Rand is one of the foremost communicators of our time. Her ability to communicate complex issues cogently, logically and passionately means that, decades later, her works are still being sited as `the text' to read, in politics, philosophy or morality. Clarity, integration and style are thoroughly discussed. The advice given here applies to all non-fiction writing (see also her book on fiction writing The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers) and it's not the usual recycled blurb. Rand's method of thinking, led to her method of writing and style. This book lets you into some of those secrets and allows anybody to improve their writing skills.

I was rather impressed with what Rand had to say about writing and style. As the authoress of the second-most influential book ("Atlas Shrugged"), she has a lot to say on the matter. And, as always, you cannot stop a bandersnatch.

There are some preliminaries. First, as with all of her writings, this book's ideas are outgrowths of her philosophy of Objectivism. For Rand aficionados, you know that it keeps cropping up with everything that she writes. So if you either agree with her, or are willing to plow around it, then get this book.

Second, this book is really edited selections from a longer seminar she had on writing. If the discussion seems out of joint at times, it is due to the selecting/editing process. To help round out here ideas, I suggest reading "The Art of Writing Fiction" and "The Romanic Manifesto," all of which were extracted from this same meeting.

Rand is one of the finest systematic thinkers ever, and this book shows it. She is able to take something apart, separate, correlate, and analyze the parts, and then put it back together again.

By being so analytical, she gets the writing process right. The first five chapters are really the basting cap essential in explosive writing. Writing can be simplified by preparation, organization, and thinking, which is the message of these chapters.

Chapters 5 through 8 cover the more traditional nuts and bolts of writing. Chapter 5, on creating an outline, is the key link between thinking and writing. She is right when suggesting that everyone writing nonfiction should use an outline. It organizes both the mind and the writing. I was glad that the editors included some sample outlines of Rand's writing, to watch how the process proceeds from outline to full article.

I think out of all of the chapters, "Writing the Draft" was the most helpful. The editor subtitled it "The primacy of the subconscious." This highlights Rand's point that writing is really something that comes spontaneously form a disciplined mind. Furthermore, the chapter contains several subsections on "The Squirms," helpful mulling, euthanizing pet sentences, and handling interruptions.

This last point cannot be emphasized too much: writing is a job, and it takes concentration. Rand likens it to heating a blast furnace--you work up to a high temperature, and that temperature must be maintained for weeks to get the desired results. While writing "Atlas Shrugged," she had to sequester herself for thirteen years.

I have a similar experience while writing. People visibly see you clacking on the computer, but what they do not see is the amount of focus inside your head, invisible to your eyes. So they want you to answer the phone, run this errand, baby-sit, chat, paint a house, watch some idiotizing program on TV, or come in on your day off because so-and-so called in sick so they could stay home watching some idiotizing program on TV. You need to be as harsh with writing as you would with your bill-paying job. Indeed, a good writer sees writing AS A SECOND JOB!

The last chapters are a potpourri of topics that did not fit in either "The Romantic Manifesto" or "The Art of Fiction." They are helpful for what they are, but seem a bit out of place and curt. They serve as surveys to the topics.

The only critique I have would be rearranging the chapters. Move chapter 12 ("Acquiring Ideas For Writing") up between chapters 1 and 2, since the thinking process--the process of reverie and listening to the unconscious percolate--precedes the choice of a subject and theme. I would also move chapter 11 ("Selecting a title") to go after chapter 7 ("Editing"), and moved chapter 8 ("Style") between the chapters on writing the draft and editing. Since this book was edited posthumously, this organizational error is not hers.

Here is my ideal order:

1. Preliminary remarks
2. Acquiring Ideas for Writing
3. Choosing a Subject and Theme
4. Judging one's Audience
5. Applying Philosophy
6. Creating an Outline
7. Writing the Draft
8. Style
9. Editing
10. Selecting a Title
11. Book Reviews
12. Writing a Book
Appendix: Outlines

For a second or third reading, it may be helpful to use this order, since it follows the process of thinking-writing-rewriting.

*

I have put this book in my mix of style guides, and will read it along with Strunk and White, Trimble's "Writing With Style," The Chicago Manual, and "The Little, Brown Handbook."

(I would rate it five stars, but the disordered chapter organization talked me out of it.)

This book offers guidance on a variety of topics and problems that a writer of non-fiction, whether articles or books, might encounter. The advice is never formulaic, but rather gives the reader methods by which to improve his own writing process and style. Highly recommended.

It starts slow and plods along for a few chapters but eventually Rand strikes a resonant chord and the writing comes to life. Ayn Rand will get your mind 'right' about writing and get your mental tool-box organized, to handle odd-jobs or the magnum-opus.

As with so much of Ayn Rand's writing, she takes on an issue (in this case, nonfiction writing) that seems hopelessly complex, and then explains it with such clarity that you're left wondering what all the confusion was about in the first place. If you're stuck in your writing, even if you've never read anything by Rand before, this book is priceless.

This book effectively takes the reader from start to finish regarding the publishing process. Avery Cardoza is truly gifted in his ability to convey information.

Though some of the data needs to be updated, the overall content is solid and time tested.

Pertinent, enjoyable read.

This book has helped me to understand publishing and what it takes to start a company. Nothing is sugar-coated, and I really appreciated that. You learn where to go to get legally registered and how much everything will cost. When I went about starting my publishing company, everything was as Cardoza said it would be; no surprises. The book was interesting enough to be read within a couple of days, and it even had some humorous points. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the publishing business, or writers who are curious about the way it works. He covers publishing all the way from a mere idea to the finished product, and then he gives helpful insight on marketing and distribution. There are also some templates (for contracts and other things), and lists of people to contact in order to get your company listed (for writers to find you). There are a few typos, but the information is so well put-together that they aren't even an issue. I have no further publishing questions (at least not until I drastically expand my business) after reading this book. I can't praise it enough!

Whether you're considering starting your own publishing company or you'd like to self-publish a book, this gives you absolutely all the information you could possibly need. From registering a company name and getting the ISBN to the actual layout and printing of the book, it's all there! I thought I'd have to buy several books to learn everything I'd need to do, but this ended up being the most comprehensive guide I could find. I ended up sending my book to a publisher instead of publishing it on my own, but my closest friend in the world used this book to start his business and he's been amazingly successful! Even if the edition is a few years old, it's suprisingly relevant and accurate. It's a great buy and I recommend it to anyone even thinking of self-publishing, starting a publishing business, or even just a career in publishing.

This is comprehensive, good info, has all the details: layout, marketing, legalities. If you want to publish buy this book and be on your way!

Avery Cardoza's book about publishing is a little more complete than many of the others out there.
It isn't written for authors who self-publish, but for entrepreneurs who want to start a book publishing company, though it's helpful to both.
His tone is upbeat and encouraging. He's a successful publisher himself, and he shows you how he did it. He has an excellent chapter on finding your niche in the book market and on evaluating the profit potential of each area of book publishing. He has great credibility in this area.
Then he launches into the nuts and bolts of setting up your company, the company structure you want, and the investments you need to make, and what you can expect financially as you start out.
There's an excellent section on finding authors and ideas for books and turning them into profitable works. He shows how a small publishing company can leverage its advantage over larger companies and make a profit on books that they can't.
He discusses marketing, including the impact of your title and cover design, and has a great section on how to price your books.
There are several chapters on production and interior design that can help you as you work with printers and designers, or if you'd like to try to do the interior design yourself.
He wraps up the book with some nuts and bolts advice on running your business and improving your bottom line.
He deals with distribution and sales, and getting publicity, though he doesn't delve into publicity a lot. He also doesn't really discuss editing at all. There are some copyediting mistakes in the book which may make you reflect on how important copyediting perfection is to your bottom line. How many mistakes can you let get through and still have a profitable book?
I'd recommend other books to learn more about marketing, publicity, and editing.
He also has an interesting chapter on multimedia and software publishing and the great differences between that and book publishing.
Overall, a very well-rounded book that has some clear strengths that make it extremely valuable for a publishing entrepreneur.

This book actually changed my life. I am a doctoral student and I was stalled in the work of my dissertation due to some pretty serious life issues and I thought I was genuinely never going to be able to finish. I literally had hit a wall. I bought this book, feeling like this was a last resort, and decided to just surrender to their system. Why not just try? Their method detailed in the data collection and analysis chapter with the envelopes and labels is worth the price of the book. It led me step by step from a place of confusion to where I am now. And where I am now is on the verge of meeting with my committee for my defense. I am stunned. I went from "I have no idea how I'm going to do this" to "I'm done" in a matter of two months. It was this book. That's all I can say.

Foss and Waters have written a book that seems destined to become a classic about how to finish a dissertation in a timely manner. I can't even begin to say how helpful this book has been to me during the writing process. Unlike other "how-to" dissertation guides that seem to privilege study skills and research techniques, Foss and Waters go over the nuts-and-bolts of writing. My writing output has literally tripled since reading this book. Destination Dissertation is a must-have for any serious graduate student.

This book is awsome! It is the best book on the market for writing a dissertation. I wish the guide was available when I started graduate school because it would have helped me focus other research projects and be more focused by the time I got to the dissertation writing phase of my program. Foss & Water's step-by-step guide makes writing projects so much easier and takes away a lot of the stress related to writing a dissertation. Dissertation advisors should also have a copy because it would help them help their advisees get through the process. Hopefully, "Destination Dissertation" will be a step towards getting many of the folks who are ABD through their programs!

With so many dissertation guides available, it's tough to know which one to pick. The unique value of Destination Dissertation lies in its suggestions for overcoming real-world road blocks in the journey. Foss and Waters provide concrete tips and actual examples for dealing with common problems like an out-of-control lit review, making sense of mounds of data, negotiating with advisors and committee members, slow and painful writing, and plain old boredom. This book keeps the reader's focus on a manageable plan for breaking down tasks and moving forward. Highly recommended for graduate students in the thesis or dissertation process who want to get it DONE and get on with their lives.

Destination Dissertation presents an attempt to demystify the process of conducting, writing and presenting original research, completing dissertations and making the transition to journal articles. The travel metaphor is creative and one to which all of us, as scholars, can relate. The format is cohesive and the chapters flow according to the process of the dissertation format. The techniques suggested are ones that students in my methods classes have found extremely beneficial. I have had students comment on the usefulness of these techniques.

I believe this will not only entertain my grandchildren but help them in with their learning skills.

At the beginning of the year, my second graders draw the pictures and copy the information provided about each animal we study. As the year progresses, they are expected to provide other information they learn about a particular animal. This is perfect to use during our study of habitats!

I bought these books for my granddaughters and we have enjoyed them together. It's a wonderful way to encourage young artists to expand their talent. My daughter is a teacher and is excited to use them also.

These books are incredibly helpful for teaching art, and for a supplement to science and history. We use something else for handwriting but no matter - they are a huge asset even if you just use them for learning to draw. I highly recommend splurging and buying the whole set at once as it makes the cost of the books only $7.50 each (at $60 for a set of 8) and then you have a wide variety of subject matter handy when you need it. I must say that for whatever reason though, this item took forever to get to me. I love Amazon and had never, and have never again experienced such a long delay, but of couse it was well worth the wait!

We love these books. We home-school and have been using these books since the beginning of the school year. My two boys are older, 3rd and 5th grade, but we still use this to practice cursive writing and to work on basic drawing skills. It has really helped the boys to break down their drawing subjects in simple shapes. The kids really like the animals in the last few books. We would recommend these for any family.

I don't usually write reviews, but I found this book too enlightening to not. Getting Into Character is full of excellent ideas and excellent examples. I am in the process of editing my National Novel Writing Month novel using Collins' ideas. Her examples are clear and illuminating. The recommended reading at the back of the book is extensive and well-explained.

I would have liked a little more on creating a good "Level A," but that is my only complaint.

If you write and are in the market to raise your writing to the level of such literary greats as Twain, Austen, Tolstoy, Dickens, Siddons, Dumas, Hugo, Mitchard, Foster, Waller, Martini or Saul, then this is a must have for your research library. From the fingers of Brandilyn Collins comes the experience of a best selling novelist and her adaptation of Method acting director/instructor, Stanislasky's words. Included are samples of contemporary and classic novels teaching you how to push your writing higher. You can learn how to draw the reader to your characters as their story unfolds. Don't miss this one!

An interesting analogy of how writers are like actors and must get into their characters' heads in order to portray them in a convincible style. Filled with good ideas.

This book seemed to be one-half Lajos Egri (The Art of Creative Writing) and one-half John Cleaver (Immediate Fiction). Like both of these authors, Brandilyn Collins explains how to create well-developed, compelling characters that you can let loose in your stories.

All of the author's techniques tie back to Stansislavsky's "Method Acting." Each chapter starts with an analysis of one of techniques of Method Acting. Then that technique is summarized in terms of ficiton writing. The remaining chapter fills in the details and gives examples.

In addition to the techniques of character development, the author presents several narrative frameworks for the overall plotting of the story. She also discusses crafting each scene using character objectives that flow from the character's Inner Values.

The chapter on dialog was interesting. Here, the author shows you how to link the hidden-message of dialog (sub-texting) back to the richly-developed psychological profile, or inner values, of the character.

I liked the book very much - particularly her conceptualization of Method Acting back to narrative writing and her well-explained examples. This book is different than many others describing character development. The author also includes exercises that the reader can pursue.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

The reviewers have said it all, and yet I feel the need to add my two cents as an author and a 'how-to' book collector.

I struggled with my characters from the beginning and since reading Brandilyn's book I can understand why. Never before have I read a book that gives such explicit examples of how to create characters of depth and motivation.

My copy is dog-eared, highlighted, scribbled, and has lovingly earned a spot on my shelf as a book I could not write without. I can't recommend GETTING INTO CHARACTER enough for new authors and those who think they have nothing more to learn.

After attending a writing workshop conducted by Harry Noden and realizing how powerful his methods are in teaching students the art of descriptive writing and in developing one's own skills, I was thrilled to find his book. Its nine chapters are full of specific, concrete strategies to create a writing masterpiece with each concept that is presented.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS BOOK! I have searched for years for a useful way to teach grammar. This book has been an inspiration to my teaching. I have tried several of Noden's techniques, all with great success. This book is a must have for any English teacher!

Image Grammar is a great tool to use to quickly improve student writing!

Book was unwrapped, with new and functional CD. Thank you for great (and timely) service.

This is a very well-done book. The ideas in the book flow and fill your head with plenty of ideas. The writing itself is polished and comfortable. A great book for students and teachers. A good read.

I purchased The Legacy Guide after checking out several books from the library on the subject first. I found this text met my needs better than any of the others I scanned. It is very readable, clearly organized, and the workbook approach was perfect for motivating me to write. I also downloaded the work forms from TheLegacyGuide.com so I could make notes without having to get into Word each time. I feel it is the "Complete" Legacy Guide.

Earl Anderson

My family has a story... or really, multiple stories. And every family has an archivist.... even if they don't know just yet who that is. When I gave this to my aunt, I found that there were two things necessary to making a family history - an archivist with the passion to tell the story, and guidance on how to actually do it, and not get frustrated by or lost in the process. The analogy for me is great cuisine - it takes a passionate chef, and a recipe. What's different from meal to meal is the ingredients.

Carol Franco and Kent Lineback's book is a terrific tool for transforming the archivist into a historian. Every family needs an historian to pass their story down the generations. Already, my children know little or nothing of my grandparents, and scantly more of their grandparents. I firmly believe every family has an archivist somewhere. With The Legacy Guide, every family now has an historian.

This well-researched and well-written guide encourages and supports individuals and families who want to review and preserve not only their history but also the meaning they find in that history. Whether you are interested in "a three-ring notebook entitled My Life Story," or are making a scrapbook that includes not only words but also "photos, letters, and memorabilia," you are likely to find the process easier and more satisfying with the help of this thoughtful book.

Carol Franco and Kent Lineback have created a useful and practical guide to life story writing. The process is seen as a series of life stages, each with specific facts and memories that can be woven into a coherent memoir. If you have been thinking about telling your life story but have felt overwhelmed or inadequate, this valuable book will give you the confidence to pick up a pen and start writing.

I keep going back...and back, and back to The Legacy Guide.

==

When I first got it, I thought to myself: "I don't want to write my story. But at least I'll understand what the authors are trying to do".

So I perused the book, put it down, and concentrated on moving to Santa Fe. That's whee I had met the authors.

This week, finally, I picked it up and started REALLY digging in.

Here are my NEWEST thoughts:

1. This is NOT a "how to" book. This is a guide to one's life...by great writers who have the ability to make the reader take an introspective look at life details we normally ignore.

2. I would almost call it a "Life Guide", except that sounds pompous. But that's what it is...a guide to make the reader really understand what she/he has (and is) experienced in life. Example: the older generation...middle, late adult, elder. I learned more about what it means to get older than ever before...things I never realized were happening to me...WHY we see the world differently...HOW others treat us differently, etc. Every older person should read this.

3. One of the keys to keeping the reader's attention is the use of the many quotes...that were so personal to those quoted...and always right on target. .

Yes, we recognize people such as Alan Alda, Jane Fonda, Goldie Hawn ...and of course the great Jim Botkin. But every quote was right on target, regardless of the notoriety of the writer. Each quote made its point...and I feel the quotes brought the book more alive than any other system might have done. Ever.

Again and again,I find myself going through the book and reading the quotes/articles. The use of italics on the quotes makes that job easier to accomplish.

I could go on and on.....even get effusive.

But somehow this book should be on everyone's bookshelf. You'll just keep referring to it, time and again.

It's worth the trip.

This book is great! I love the plays the kids can act out and also the way the lessons are laid out makes it easy to teach and for the kids to understand. The activities are fun and my class doesn't moan and groan when I do activities from this book!

This is a great book for any teacher. It gives great ideas for teaching writing in an exciting way! I recommend Melissa's other books as well.

I am using this as my guide for writing instruction in my classroom. This book is full of fun activities that involve the students, while delivering the message.

After borrowing this book from a colleague, I decided I had to have my own copy. It's a resource I keep going back to each year. My sixth graders love the activities, which are fun and easy to follow. Melissa Forney knows how to motivate students to improve their writing.

Great ideas for beginning writers in terms of organization. Breaks down the steps simply. Explains what makes interesting writing.

This book is full of help for revision. It's easy to read and understand. The revision checklist is an essential tool for self-editing.

Although this is a book largely about revision and self editing of an existing manuscript, I can heartily recomend this book by Bell for those who have just commenced writing their first novel. The tips and directions from Bell will improve your first draft. I have already got lots of ideas - it has completely changed the way I am approaching my writing. Thanks James Scott Bell for a very easy to read guide.

So much for magic. So much for mystery. James Bell gives away the farm--and all the secrets of great writing--in Revision & Self-Editing. This book contains the fundamentals of great fiction and addresses all the stylistic errors that go along with attempting great fiction. You could buy a shelf full of books on each of his chapter headings alone (i.e. Dialogue, Point of View, Style, Character, Plot, and the all-important Show vs. Tell), or you can acquire them between these two covers. I personally appreciate Bell's Ultimate Revision Checklist--rich with questions and prompts to help push a manuscript from good to can't-put-it-down. Revision & Self-Editing has joined Strunk and White's Elements of Style and Donald Maas' Writing the Breakout Novel on my short-list of well-worn must-have writing books.

James Scott Bell writes with excitement and humor. This how-to book is practical, insightful, and inspiring. He actually tells how it's done.

How-to books for writing come in as many variations as there are writers. Some are hype, promising you'll make $100,000 in your first year of freelancing or a $50,000 advance on your first novel. They promise much more than they deliver. There are also the texts which do provide some useful information, but they're about as dry as the Nevada desert in August.

But every once in awhile a writing instruction book comes down the pike which not only delivers techniques you can immediately apply to your own fiction writing, but is actually entertaining to read too. James Scott Bell's Revision & Self-Editing is that kind of book.

Writers worth their salt are always looking to improve their craft. We want each plot to be stronger, each character deeper, each book or story to be better than the last. We're desperate to write a novel that'll keep our readers up `til dawn. But what do we do when we churn out a draft that is, shall we say, junk? What if we know something's not right, but we have no clue how to fix it?

Jim Bell to the rescue. In his previous book Plot & Structure he taught us how to create compelling plots. Now in Revision and Self-Editing he shows us "techniques for transforming our first drafts into a finished novel". When asked who the book was for, Jim told me, "Any beginner who wants to learn the essentials of the craft. And experienced writers, who can pick up some extra tips that work and a systematic approach to revision that will make their books better."

Part I: Self-Editing, gives us an overview of various fiction techniques and exercises. Here Bell touches on the building blocks of novel writing like point of view; show vs. tell and beginnings, middles and ends. It's here in this section readers of Plot & Structure might notice some re-cap. But even seasoned novelists need to be reminded of things like Bell's LOCK system (the four essentials of strong narrative) and what makes great dialogue.

Part II is where we heat up and get down to the nitty gritty of resuscitating our manuscripts. And let's face it--almost every first draft we write is going to need help. As Bell says, "Submitting a novel without rewriting is like playing ice hockey naked. You're just not equipped to put your best, um, face on things. And sooner rather than later a well-placed puck is going to hit you where it hurts most. That puck is the editor's or agent's built-in prejudice against weak material."

Broken down into easy read and digest sections, Bell shows us how to overcome obstacles like procrastination and what to do before you revise. He gives common fixes for everything from setting & description to dialogue and theme. For example, if your opening isn't working he suggests revving up our opening line or weeding out too much backstory, exposition and cast. Your middle sagging? Try strengthening your exposition, adding a subplot, raising the stakes, trimming, or adding research.

If you've ever attended one of Jim's writing classes, you know he doesn't just preach at you, he shows you examples of what works in the real world. Revision & Self-Editing is chock full of examples from successful, published novels and even movies. There are tidbits of advice from other published novelists like Athol Dickson and Terri Blackstock. Exercises after each chapter help you retain and apply what you've learned (Jim provides answers at the back of the book.)

Speaking of writing conferences, that's what reading this book felt like--attending a break-out session presented by a skilled wordsmith who knows of what he speaks. Like a caring English Professor, Jim hovers over your shoulder pointing out the problems and dishing out the fixes. He pulls no punches, and you can tell he wants those who read this book to succeed. With lots of sweat, burning desire, and these techniques in your back pocket, you truly can.

When Plot & Structure released I said, "If you can only buy one writing book, buy this one." Well, it's time to make space on your shelves for one more. Revision & Self-Editing deserves it.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for TitleTrakk.com