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The Everything Creative Writing Book: All you need to know to write novels, plays, short stories, screenplays, poems, articles, or blogs
Many people can write. But writing well enough to get published takes hours of practice, the ability to take criticism, and expert advice. Filled with stories and tips from published authors, this easy-to-use guide teaches you the basics of the writing craft. Whether you want to create poems or plays, children's books or online blogs, romance novels or a memoir, you'll learn to write more effectively and creatively. Published author, editor, and PR consultant Wendy Burt-Thomas covers all aspects of writing, including how to: Prepare to write, from planning to research to organization; Properly structure your piece to fit your chosen genre; Stay focused during the drafting and editing processes; Work with other authors; Overcome writer's block; Market your writing; and more. Whether you're an aspiring or experienced writer, you'll find all you need to spark creativity and get your works in print. With exercises, techniques, samples, and interviews with published writers, The Everything Creative Writing Book, 2nd Edition will turn any dedicated craftsman into a great writer.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
55 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 10, 2018
The name says it all: "The Everything Creative Writing Book: All you need to know to write novels, plays, short stories, screenplays, poems, articles, or blogs", maybe too much. In this book, Wendy Burt-Thomas takes a holistic approach to writing, discussing everything from how to write poetry and children's books, blogs and technical specs to how to find an agent, self publish and so on. It covers writing techniques and editing advice, writer block solutions and how to deal with rejection (or success for that matter) and many more. In that regard, the book is awesome, it shows everything you might want to know a little about in order to decide what you actually choose to do, but like that Nicholas Butler quote "An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing", the book is probably not very useful to someone who has already started working on things.
That said, the book is compact, to the point and can help a lot at the very beginning of the writer's journey. It can be used as a reference, so that whenever a particular subject or concern appears, you just flip to that chapter and see what Wendy recommends. Is it good advice? I have no idea. I've certainly read books that go more in depth about topics that interested me more, like how to write a novel or how to set up a scene, but a panoramic view of the business is not bad either. The material also felt a little dated for something released in 2010, especially in the technical sections.
You choose if you find it useful or not.
That said, the book is compact, to the point and can help a lot at the very beginning of the writer's journey. It can be used as a reference, so that whenever a particular subject or concern appears, you just flip to that chapter and see what Wendy recommends. Is it good advice? I have no idea. I've certainly read books that go more in depth about topics that interested me more, like how to write a novel or how to set up a scene, but a panoramic view of the business is not bad either. The material also felt a little dated for something released in 2010, especially in the technical sections.
You choose if you find it useful or not.
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April 14, 2025I read one of the older editions of this book. I think it was the 2nd edition. It came out in the early 2000's.
I ended up DNF'ing this one.
It didn't age well (not the books fault) but also I found a lot of the information wasn't what I thought could work for me or be useful to a new writer. There is a lot of focus on things like creating a nice writing space that I feel could be distracting for a new writer and take them away from the actual business of getting your butt in the chair and writing.
I am sure that having a nice desk and perfect pens and notebooks and flowers can help some writers be creative but most of us honestly just write where we can when we can. Coffee shops. Kitchen tables. A nice space isn't going to make or break a writer.
Similarly, there is a section about starting with theme and I think that's bad advice for most writers. It is very easy for theme to overtake a book and take away from good storytelling. When I pick up a book to read I want to know what the story is and not the theme.
So, after those things plus all the stuff that hadn't aged well I just called it quits.
I ended up DNF'ing this one.
It didn't age well (not the books fault) but also I found a lot of the information wasn't what I thought could work for me or be useful to a new writer. There is a lot of focus on things like creating a nice writing space that I feel could be distracting for a new writer and take them away from the actual business of getting your butt in the chair and writing.
I am sure that having a nice desk and perfect pens and notebooks and flowers can help some writers be creative but most of us honestly just write where we can when we can. Coffee shops. Kitchen tables. A nice space isn't going to make or break a writer.
Similarly, there is a section about starting with theme and I think that's bad advice for most writers. It is very easy for theme to overtake a book and take away from good storytelling. When I pick up a book to read I want to know what the story is and not the theme.
So, after those things plus all the stuff that hadn't aged well I just called it quits.
September 23, 2022
I'm not sure what I expected when I picked up this book because honestly I know that "Everything" creative writing can't be covered in a few hundred pages. But this was really cursory and elementary. Maybe it would be good for a middle or high school kid who just discovered a love of writing. But it wasn't really good for a 40 year old who has been writing their entire life. Honestly, I didn't get much out of it. Even the one section I haven't been doing for years (collaborative writing) didn't have much help for it. Anyway, I don't know. Maybe if you have a kid interested in creative writing pick up this book for them, but not if you're already an adult.
January 17, 2024
It wasn't bad, it just didn't tell me anything I didn't know. Most of which I have read on the likes of Pinterest posts, basic google searches or have heard via youtube. Its probably handy if your completely new to creative writing to have all this information in one place and it would be a good place to start your journey so I don't want to rate it low but if you've spent any time studying creative writing, I don't think this book would be largely useful.
June 24, 2020
The writing advice in this book is solid—if perhaps a bit outdated—and it certainly covers a lot of material, but it’s also trying to do too many things in a very short period of time. No topic gets the full attention it needs to stand out from any other writing resource in a given area (poetry, journalism, etc.) and many clearly fall outside of the author’s wheelhouse.
October 10, 2022
I enjoyed reading the interviews and I learned a few things to help me with my writing. The blogging section is extremely dated today and it was dated when it was published as well. This is a beginner's introduction to creative writing. To say this is all you need to know about creative writing is a bit of a stretch.
December 28, 2020
Great advice.
February 27, 2017
Simple and easy to read and understand.
A lot of information in short chapters. Short summaries on a number of different writing preferences. Great resource information. I recommend it to beginning writers and as a good refresher to already established writers.
A lot of information in short chapters. Short summaries on a number of different writing preferences. Great resource information. I recommend it to beginning writers and as a good refresher to already established writers.
April 24, 2016
This book doesn't live up to its name. First of all, there is nothing creative about this 'Everything Creative Writing' book. It has no charm, just bland text slathered on page after page.
I am a writer in the making and I learned nothing from this book, but that's probably because I started learning too late and already discovered the basics. It didn't tell me how to improve my writing technique, how to write better, describe better, or write beautifully. A simple grammar guide would've taught more.
So, this book is for the absolute beginners. That is, if you have never, ever, written then you might find this helpful. It's an encyclopedia or something, with a little bit of everything.
But, honestly, just Google 'How to Write' and read 4-5 random articles. That will give you all that you will learn from this book in a matter of minutes.
But if you have OCD and must learn in detail with examples of everything, then you will find this helpful.
I am a writer in the making and I learned nothing from this book, but that's probably because I started learning too late and already discovered the basics. It didn't tell me how to improve my writing technique, how to write better, describe better, or write beautifully. A simple grammar guide would've taught more.
So, this book is for the absolute beginners. That is, if you have never, ever, written then you might find this helpful. It's an encyclopedia or something, with a little bit of everything.
But, honestly, just Google 'How to Write' and read 4-5 random articles. That will give you all that you will learn from this book in a matter of minutes.
But if you have OCD and must learn in detail with examples of everything, then you will find this helpful.
April 15, 2016
EVERYTHING. For novels, plays, short stories, screenplays, poems, articles and blogs. All in 300 pages. Wow! Amazing. And from a name that has nothing attached to it. Maybe is Stephen King in disguise. Nope. Stephen King already wrote a book about that and he does not have the expertise for plays and poems. Anyway, maybe somebody great is behind this name. But why would the editor pass on such a great opportunity to have a true best seller? Than you open up the book. And the advice is the same as the free advice on many many blogs. This is a blog put into a book. And like any free blog you get advertisements. Some are clear like the need to buy a space pen trade marked object. Others are more subtle. But given the quality of the writing I doubt the author has the ability to be subtle. So it's just ignorance.
March 13, 2012
Love it and took notes, because there was something worth taking!
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April 28, 2012loved it. it helped me write more better!
January 26, 2015
More like a 3.5
Had some very good information. Took some notes.
Had some very good information. Took some notes.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews