Writing Tools
One of America 's most influential writing teachers offers a toolbox from which writers of all kinds can draw practical inspiration."Writing is a craft you can learn," says Roy Peter Clark. "You need tools, not rules." His book distills decades of experience into 50 tools that will help any writer become more fluent and effective. WRITING TOOLS covers everything from the most basic ("Tool 5: Watch those adverbs") to the more complex ("Tool 34: Turn your notebook into a camera") and provides more than 200 examples from literature and journalism to illustrate the concepts. For students, aspiring novelists, and writers of memos, e-mails, PowerPoint presentations, and love letters, here are 50 indispensable, memorable, and usable tools. "Pull out a favorite novel or short story, and read it with the guidance of Clark 's ideas.... Readers will find new worlds in familiar places. And writers will be inspired to pick up their pens." -Boston Globe"For all the aspiring writers out there-whether you're writing a novel or a technical report-a respected scholar pulls back the curtain on the art." -Atlanta Journal-Constitution"This is a useful tool for writers at all levels of experience, and it's entertainingly written, with plenty of helpful examples." -Booklist
Stats for nerds
7recommend
10mentions
8people
2009–2025years
90% recommend10% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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- By the way - to see progress in this area, if your AI can analyse my writing along the "tips" detailed in this book (and explaining my writing weaknesses and suggesting how I can improve in those axes) I think it would invaluable!
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Tools-Essential-Strategies-Wr...
- 1. On Writing Well by William Zinsser
2. Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
3. The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
4. The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker
5. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
6. Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark
7. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
8. The Art of Plain Talk by Rudolf Flesch
9. A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker
10. Writing Science by Joshua Schimel
- Read books by Gary Provost on writing. Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark. Draft number 4 by McPhee. They contain a variety of ideas. Writing Tools is great if you want to identify and drill techniques. Provost's books cover everything and are written well.
- Actually that para jumped out at me too. But more for style. As a kid and late into my adult hood I really sucked at writing. The kind of suckiness where you are deluded about your prowess based on length of prose!
Then I found Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools book. Full of snack sized tips that can be used independently. Heavy curtains lifted for me. I felt regret shame and optimism all at the same time.
Reason I bring this up is one technique that got stamped in my mind was variation in sentence length to build suspense and action. This article (this para in particular) to me seemed like a masterclass in that!
Oh yes definitely +1 on the insinuations!
- Also highly recommend Writing Tools:
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