● Diane Wordsworth ● freelance writer ● editor ● proofreader ● storyteller ● novelist ● photo-journalist ●
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 44. Save the Cat! has been the last book on screenwriting that screenwriters will ever need since 2005, and then there was another, and another ... until there were five books using this tried and tested method... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. It's actually taking two years, but here is book 43 anyway. How to Plan, Outline, and Write Your Novel in 30 Days is the latest guide from Amy Deardon. And I have to say ... it's possibly the best book... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 42. Thanks to NetGalley and to F&W Media for an advance copy of Writing Without Rules by Jeff Somers. I wasn't approved to review the book at my first try, but when I asked again on a... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 41. I bought the paperback of Writing & Selling your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron very soon after it came out. I loved it so much that, when I saw an electronic version was now available, I bought... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 40. Write a Novel in Ten Minutes a Day is a book I once promised myself as soon as the next person paid me. When that first payment came in on a Monday, I bought it. And... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 39, which is also courtesy of NetGalley and Pendragon Cove Press. Thanks to NetGalley and to Pendragon Cove Press for an advance copy of The Business of Writing: Practical Insights for Independent, Hybrid, and Traditionally Published Authors... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 38. Story Starters is a book of fiction writing prompts from Fiction Attic Press - or New York Times award winning author Michelle Richmond. Michelle has been teaching creative writing for a lot of years, and she's a... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 37. The Busy Mom's Guide to Writing by Angela Castillo and Jamie Foley, is the first in a series of (currently) three writers' guides. Later this year, all three books will be available in a boxset, so it... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 36. How to Write a Novel step-by-step is part of a series from Sandy Marsh, and several of the box-sets are free. The subheading for this one is: Essential romance novel, mystery novel and fantasy novel writing tricks... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 35. How to Write Fiction Without the Fuss by Lucy McCarraher is another of those that does exactly what it says on the cover. I loved this book so much that I even bought the non-fiction title. Instead... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 34. The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors is by Anne R Allen. It was mentioned in a Facebook group recently, so I thought I'd take a look. It didn't take me very long to read it... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 33. How to Write Pulp Fiction by James Scott Bell is probably my favourite how-to-write book from this author. Before the end I was already making notes, trying out the random plot generator and thinking up characters... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 32. I thought it was going to be another of those make-a-fortune-using-my-tried-and-tested-method books by an author who hasn't actually had (m)any books published, and I admit I resisted buying it for some time. However, I'm glad I... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the course of a year. Here is book 31. I first bought* How to Write a Novel the Easy Way! Using the Pulp Fiction Method ... to write better novels by Jim Driver & Jack Davies in December 2014. However, I've only recently got... Continue Reading →
I've got myself a little behind on this. I've been reading the books, I've just not found the time to write them up. In a bid to catch up, here we go again ... I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the course of a year. Here is book... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 29. I didn't know this one was on my Kindle until it popped up one day during NaNoWriMo and I spent several minutes making sure it hadn't slipped on there un-ordered by myself. However, the Amazon page... Continue Reading →
A brief interlude from NaNoWriMo ... I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 28. Stop Worrying; Start Writing: How to Overcome Fear, Self-Doubt and Procrastination by Sarah Painter is one of those that does exactly what it says on the cover. It's not a... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 27. I have to say I loved this book. And I don't even aspire to be a travel writer - too much hard work for too little remuneration (unless you make it really big, really quickly, or... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 26. First of all, How to Start a Travel Blog and Make Money by Kirsty Stuart is not a book on how to write travel. It's how to set up the blog and then make real, tangible... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 25. I was a tad disappointed with How to Write a Novel by Jonathan Reid. The sub-title reads: "a blueprint for fiction writing & how to outline your novel using the snowflake method". The snowflake method is still... Continue Reading →
*** shameless self-plug alert *** I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 24. I couldn't complete a series on writers' guides without at least including a plug for my own. Especially as it's the first in a series, and especially as I've been getting... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 23. If there's only one book on your shelf or ebook and you want to target UK markets, make it this one (although there are some overseas markets too). Even older versions contain loads of useful material.... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 22. The Author Organizer: How to anticipate, survive and master the whirlpool of your publishing career by Ella Medler is one of a set of (currently) seven from Paper Gold Publishing. That's quite typical of me, arriving late... Continue Reading →
Lots of writers advise other writers to stop reading books on writing and just crack on with the writing. But I love to read books on writing. I love to see how other writers work and I like to find out new things to try. My husband has been a coarse fisherman for more than... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 21. Start Writing Your book Today by Morgan Gist MacDonald is one of the reasons I refuse to stop reading books about writing. If I did that, I wouldn't be trying out two new things this coming... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 20. I'm a plotter. When starting to write a book for the first time, I can plan for England. I love the planning process. I've tried writing by the seat of my pants, but I often run... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 19. Alex Gazzola is already very well-known by many of us writers for his Mistakes Writers Make website, and here, to add to his gems of wisdom, is the third in his series of books that go... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 18. The Literary Agent's Guide to Writing a Non-Fiction Book Proposal by Andy Ross does exactly what it says on the cover. An American book, written by an American literary agent for the American market means that... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 17. When I started blogging, the only people who I knew that blogged were writers. I wasn't aware of any other kind of blog - or even vlog, as seems to be the rage by now. I... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 16. I bought How to Write a Book From Outline to Finish Line: 10 simple ways to outline your nonfiction book by Shelley Hitz because I wanted to refresh my memory on writing a book proposal. What I... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 15. The first thing Writing Crime Fiction by Rosemary Rowe advises you to do is ALL of the exercises in this book - and there are plenty. The second thing it tells you to do is to work... Continue Reading →
I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 14. How to Write Short Romance Kindle Books by Nina Harrington, claims to be a 40-minute read/masterclass. My version was part of a bundle, and I think it took me just about an hour to read it from... Continue Reading →
I've been a bit busy in recent weeks, mostly catching up on my self-imposed publishing schedule, so I'm a little behind in this. However, I didn't forget, so ... I set myself the goal of reading and reviewing 52 writing guides over the year. Here is book 13. Liz Fielding's Little Book of Writing Romance... Continue Reading →
