Tool-books for Writers 2002
Tool-books for Writers 2001

Vol. 2, Issue 1, January 2002

THE JOURNAL WHEEL & GUIDEBOOK
by Deborah Bouziden
Reviewed by Milli Thornton

To use the Journal Wheel, you dial the date and your mood. This renders a topic and technique. You then use the Quick Reference bookmark to locate the page you need in the guidebook.

The guidebook is slim--which is good, because the last thing you need when you're going to journal is a tome of instructions on how to do it. The guidebook gives you tips on how to use the topic you've dialed up on the wheel. For example, if your mood that day dialed you up to the topic MONEY and the technique POETRY, the guidebook suggests you write a poem about gold and silver. Other techniques include: dialogue, dreams, unsent letters, character sketches, clustering, life snapshots and lists.

Since acquiring my wheel I've journaled extensively on topics that I probably would have been too lazy or too busy to tackle; including a ten page dialogue with the sarcastic voice of my money issues, a nine page memory about my father and a four page humorous sketch of my cat. But as Deborah points out, you can also use the wheel to journal for just a few minutes.

The verdict? I'm very happy with all the extra writing I've done and the new topics I've covered since I got my wheel. It works!

Purchase The Journal Wheel and Guidebook

ESCAPING INTO THE OPEN
by Elizabeth Berg
Reviewed by Toni Jabson

Elizabeth Berg is the voice of every woman. Be it a fifty-year-old empty-nester running away from home, as in PULL OF THE MOON, or a woman who has just discovered her husband is having an affair, as in OPEN HOUSE; Ms. Berg can carry you away and into the life of her character. And many times that character is a part of you.

Part autobiography, mostly primer on the writing life, ESCAPING INTO THE OPEN is as enjoyable as her novels have been. Each chapter, even the autobiographical ones, end with an exercise to help prompt that mind that seems to sometimes reluctantly give up its precious content.

The greatest gift that can be garnered from reading this book is the knowledge that famous writers are people too. They procrastinate, have blocks, and juggle families, just like the rest of us. ESCAPING INTO THE OPEN, was enjoyable and it helped this reviewer to understand that she does not have to be a perfectionist, organized or single to become successful.

Purchase Escaping Into The Open

TONI JABSON's answer to "What do you do?" is "I'm a stay-at-home mom/writer." But the stay-at-home mom gig is paying more at the moment. Mother of three children, ages eighteen, sixteen and four, Toni loves to read, journal, hike, and play cards with friends.

Vol. 2, Issue 2, February 2002

WORKING by Studs Terkel
People Talk About What They Do All Day
and How They Feel About What They Do
Reviewed by Milli Thornton

"The real American experience. The poetry of real people." ~Chicago Daily News

You can read this book for the 'poetry of real people' but you can also use it as a lively reference book when creating new characters for your stories and novels. Research anyone from a skycap to an industrial investigator to a baby nurse.

Studs Terkel took his tape recorder out on the road to capture the search for daily meaning in our working lives. He makes no distinction between the slovenly and the perfectionist; he's merely there to record what they say about their jobs.

WORKING was published in the early 70's so you're hearing voices from a different era. This book is not so much about the technical aspects of any career as it is about how people feel when they do the job. You may not be able to base the accuracy of your novel on this reference book, but you can certainly use it to spark your imagination. Writing about our characters from the gut is just as vital as accuracy. This book provides plenty of gut feelings, from all walks of life.

Purchase Working

BOOK REVIEW JOURNAL by Creative Concepts Reviewed by Milli Thornton

I once knew a writer who kept a record of every book he'd ever read. I remember being envious. I can't recall even half of the books I've read in my lifetime! Wouldn't it be glorious to review an archive and be able to prompt my memory?

While visiting Telluride, CO last May, I happened across a book review journal for sale in the wonderful Wilkinson Public Library. The journal provides one page for each book you finish reading. You record the title, the author, what type of book it is, the main characters, a brief description of the story and your thoughts on the book. You can also give each book a "star rating." Use the journal to keep track of books recommended to you by friends, or to make extra notes for your book club meetings.

Later at home I surfed to the website on the back of the journal. Creative Golf Gifts! But you don't have to be a golf fanatic to enjoy the book review journal page. Choose from different styles: The Ladybug, Antique Page of Notes (made with heavyweight parchment paper), Children's Book Reviews, Performing Arts Reviews and At The Movies.

Purchase your own Book Review Journal [June 2003: Sorry, this link appears to now be dead. We could not relocate the Book Review Journal via Internet search. If you happen to locate an outlet, please let us know. Thanks! ~ Editor]

Vol. 2, Issue 3, March 2002

MAKING STORIES: HOW TEN AUSTRALIAN NOVELS WERE WRITTEN by Sue Woolfe and Kate Grenville Reviewed by Milli Thornton

Shows the process ten Australian authors went through with their manuscripts. If you like visuals, you'll love this book. It shows the more traditional style of rewrite (crossings-outs in a typed draft) all the way to the exotic--such as the drawings of spider webs, naked ladies and dress patterns used by author Finola Moorhead for REMEMBER THE TARANTELLA. Both of the authors also bare their souls with samples from their own manuscripts. The visuals are enriched by fascinating interviews, and tidbits such as character sketches rendered by the ten authors. This book will remind you once again that there's no 'right' way to write--except your own way.

Order MAKING STORIES from Allen & Unwin, the Australian publisher (don't forget, the U.S. dollar is worth almost twice as much in Australia).

For more insight into the life of one Australian novelist, visit Kate Grenville's website: www.users.bigpond.com/kgrenville.

WHAT'S THE RULE? by Kathy Sole
Reviewed by Milli Thornton

"Do you suffer from comma trauma? Does grammar give you grief? Do you wonder when to use 'affect' or 'effect'? Then WHAT'S THE RULE? is your solution." This is the claim made by author, Kathy Sole, at her zippy website, and she hits the bulls-eye. Not only that, Kathy has demystified the entire process. No more wading through boring text books written in grammarese by professors who love to make it sound obscure. Kathy came up with this handbook when her corporate and government clients cried for help: "Make it simple!" So she did. She first explains each rule to you in user-friendly language, and then she gives an example of the rule in action. Her book also has a section on Sentences and Style, plus a glossary to help you with weird Latin-sounding words such as 'ampersand' and 'ellipsis.' Find out what F.A.N.B.O.Y.S. stands for, and how to use quotation marks like a pro.

Purchase What's the Rule

Vol. 2, Issue 4, April 2002

YOU CAN MAKE IT BIG WRITING BOOKS A Top Agent Shows You How to Develop a Million-Dollar Bestseller by Jeff Herman
Reviewed by Jennifer Turner

I bought this book because I highly respect Jeff Herman. If there is any one man I would listen to with earnest eagerness, it's this agent. This book does not disappoint.

From Herman's introduction that ends with these words, "You can be the one who is responsible, the one who grabs destiny by the throat and proclaims: My will is my fate. My hunger is my fuel'," to the sections describing the authors who've gained success, this book is inspirational, to say the least.

Herman divides the majority of the book into five chapters, each detailing a corner of the literary market. The first chapter describes Marathoners--those who write continually over the course of their lifetime.

In the second chapter, The Heavyweights, he offers insight to the careers of authors who've sold millions, coined household phrases, and crossed into the film industry.

Producers, his third chapter, are described as authors who publish so many books others are in awe. Followed by this, is Promoters, which discusses the merit of "putting down the pen and going out into the world of promotion."

Chapter five was interesting as he tackled the arena of Niche Authors, an author who "know[s] that one way to make it big is to establish yourself in your niche, and the fans will flock."

The second section of the book is an invaluable tool for any aspiring author. It covers the many do's and don't's an author should be aware of while starting their career. Herman's section on Reality Check is an eye-opening description of publication, but followed by his advice on Creating a Product That Sizzles: Gaining Access to the Mysterious World of Publishing, and Promoting Your Book to the Big Time, the reader is left with a sense of direction. In his last chapter, Getting Out of Your Own Way, we learn how we can avoid sabotaging our own careers--as in facing rejection and learning to be patient with extremely tedious publishing schedules.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in launching a career in writing. Not only does the afterword explain the secret ingredients to making it big, it ends the book on a positive note. Any business person researches his or her field. If we want writing to be our business there is no other book that describes, so simply and clearly, the true road to publication success.

Puchase You Can Make It Big Writing Books

Vol. 2, Issue 5, May 2002

DAMN! WHY DIDN'T I WRITE THAT? How Ordinary People Are Raking in $100,000 or More Writing Nonfiction Books & How You Can Too!
by Marc McCutcheon
Reviewed by Milli Thornton

McCutcheon opens by claiming that "nonfiction books are the most likely to bring the largest rewards for the least amount of struggle and heartache." Then he gives eighteen pages of book titles (far from boring to read!) as a selection of the hundreds of titles that have sold from 50,000 all the way up to 83,000,000 copies. And yes, CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL is on the list, but so are many titles that may surprise you. This book has me excited. While reading it, I jotted ten nonfiction book ideas inside the front cover, knowing that the author has given me the tools to take each of these ideas through the crucible and decide whether they're truly worth developing. McCutcheon also tells you how and where to research your nonfiction projects and how to put rejection into perspective. He gives his own personable slant on those familiar big issues: how to write a query letter and a book proposal; how to negotiate for better royalties; understanding the author's bundle of rights. Author of the classic best-seller ROGET'S SUPER THESAURUS and other nonfiction titles, McCutcheon is a high school dropout with the writer's lifestyle we all dream of.

Purchase Damn! Why Didn't I Write That?

WRITING FOR MAGAZINES: Twelve New Things Writers Must Do Today to Make Money
by Meg Weaver
Reviewed by Milli Thornton

Meg Weaver has written thousands of articles, starting when she was twelve years old, and she says that writing for magazines is fun. However, in the early 1990s not only the fun dried up, but so did her paychecks. The industry had changed and there was no one to tell her why, or what she needed to do next. Instead of giving up, Weaver embarked on an amazing research adventure which (these days) results in a 40% acceptance rate on her queries. Her e-book reveals the business secrets that every magazine writer needs to know to stay out of the slush pile. You'll learn who the target market is, why "positioning" affects every article you write, how to study tag lines to ascertain the target market, and how to use the editorial calendar like a bullseye for your queries. You'll also learn how to "offer the whole job" (and what that is), how to use Weaver's "Fill-in-the-Blanks" query letter to get more magazine assignments and employ Meg's Foolproof Acceptance Test to find out whether your article will fit the magazine you're targeting (you'll be surprised at the criteria!) Once you read the e-book, you'll want to subscribe to Weaver's database of magazine publishers.

Purchase Writing for Magazines

Vol. 2, Issue 6, June 2002

THE LERA WRITER'S GUIDE
by The Land of Enchantment Romance Authors
Reviewed by Jennifer Turner

If I were to recommend one book for aspiring romance authors, this would be it. Given to me by a cherished friend, the guide has since become my writing bible, chock full of all of the information any writer has cause to search for. From how to begin (outlining, plotting and character development) to how to succeed (marketing, promotion and the business of writing), this is a huge source of knowledge. Aside from the excellent and insightful articles, it has worksheets, time management tips, and even word lists to help replace the ones we commonly over-use.

Although geared toward romance authors, the general information on the craft of writing and how to organize your story into a tight, structured and exciting read are invaluable to any genre author.

Purchase The LERA Writer's Guide

Vol. 2, Issue 7, July 2002

THE WRITER'S HANDBOOK edited by Elfrieda Abbe
Reviewed by Jennifer Turner

I bought this book about a year ago and devoured the essays on writing. During recent months, I find that I return to it often--not only to read the advice given by great writers such as Stephen King, Sue Grafton, Maeve Binchy and Elmore Leonard--but to check the market references for places I can submit the articles and stories that have resulted from the essays.

The preface, written by Frank McCourt (author of ANGELA'S ASHES) is intensely inspirational. He details his evolution as a writer and offers excellent advice, as do articles in the following categories: "On Agents and Editors" and "Working the Web." But it was the essays in the "Craft of Writing" section that really impressed me. Stephen King declares he can teach you "Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully--In Ten Minutes" . . . and he does. Highly recommended for fiction and non-fiction writers alike. This book has something for everyone.

Purchase The Writer's Handbook

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