The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing [Paperback]

Laurie E. Rozakis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0028617347 | ISBN-13: 978-0028617343 | Publication Date: April 1, 1997

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing takes the fear out of writing intriguing plays, articles, scripts and more. Feel confident about getting what you want to say down on paper and getting paid for it. This guide includes valuable tips for finding the style of writing that's best for you, proven techniques for structuring plot and character and building dramatic tension, and expert advice on what an agent can do for your career.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You don't have to be a complete idiot to glean something from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing, but it would help to be a complete novice. In a mere 300 or so large-print pages, author Laurie Rozakis sails through the fundamentals of writing novels, short stories, poetry, biographies, textbooks, reference books, magazine articles, plays, and screenplays. Then she offers primers on getting published, finding and dealing with an agent, and the legal issues involved. Whew! There is a lot of useful information here, but any given section tends toward the basic. The tone is perky and enthusiastic, slaphappy funny, and trying a little too hard to be hip--has poetry's place in the world really "changed more radically than Dennis Rodman's hair color"? Interesting tidbits gleaned: Margaret Mitchell originally planned to call Scarlett, the protagonist in Gone with the Wind, Pansy; John McPhee "accumulated fifteen years of New Yorker rejections before the magazine began buying his articles." Best quirky advice: if you're a romance novelist looking for a pseudonym, try combining the name of your first pet and your mother's maiden name; if you're a soap opera scriptwriter with the same quandary, combine your middle name with the street you lived on as a child.

About the Author

Dr. Laurie Rozakis has published dozens of books, including Shaum's Quick Guide to Writing Research Papers, Study Skills for the Utterly Confused, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style. She is a full professor of English and humanities at State University of New York at Farmingdale, and has taught English and research skills for more than fifteen years. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028617347
• ISBN-13: 978-0028617343
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,035,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice resource for beginning writers, November 19, 2003

By 

Todd Hawley (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing (Paperback)

As someone who is thinking of writing both fiction and non-fiction, I found this book to have lots of good information about how and where to start writing. From writing fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenplays and the like, the author offers a lot of good information. I'm also a technical writer and one thing that is stressed there is the need for brevity. Well the author also stresses that for good prose, you also need brevity in writing. Keep it simple in other words. There are also "charts" to use in writing a fictional piece, be it novel or short story. From characters, main and minor to settings to conflicts to resolution. The author also stresses the use of outlines when writing fiction. Again just like what technical writers do when they start writing a manual of some kind.

There's also a chapter about writing biographies and autobiographies, with tips on the information you need to gather before you start in on one. And a chapter on writing text and reference books. I had no idea there was a need for books like these. And too another important point the author stresses is the need to decide the audience you are writing for. Still another parallel to the technical writing world, where determining your audience beforehand is a crucial part of the process.

The book's last few chapters could be called the most important, because they deal with selling your work, from fiction and poetry to nonfiction. There's a chapter about literary agents, and whether or not you need one. Also one on legal contracts and fees, and ways to find out about writing contests and getting government grants for your writing work.

Finally, the book talks about editors which at times I've felt were a "necessary evil" to writing. As great as you think your work is (including this review), it can always be improved upon by a good editor. Finally, there's a chapter on overcoming writer's block. This is a good thing, as any writer has encountered this beast at one time or another.

I found this book to be entertaining and informative and would recommend it to any writer, especially beginning writers.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Only Thing I Growl About Is The Title, January 7, 2001

By 

Linda A. Goin "goinhome" (Louisville) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing (Paperback)

I never like to think of myself as an "idiot" or a "dummy." After so many years of therapy (we won't go there), it's a bit demeaning for me to go after a book that tells me I think of myself this way...however...

Lauire E. Rozakis, Ph.D. is probably the most refreshing voice I've read on creative writing to date. She gives a note of authority to every form of creative writing - including nonfiction. Throughout the book, Rozakis says one thing repeatedly - and even an "idiot" would know this, but it doesn't hurt to say it over and over again - in order to be a successful writer, the writer must WRITE. Her step-by-step guidelines are concise and the little sidebars of added information are informative and witty.

Rozakis writes with seeming ease and with charm. I found myself nodding my head "yes" to information on every page. This book is worth three times the cost. No - actually, I think it's priceless.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great for beginners, February 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing (Paperback)

This guide is for the ultimate beginner who is thinking of being a writer. It covers the very basics of creative writing. She starts the book off by saying anyone can be a writer and the point is to not get intimidated and just do it. She covers the process of writing, the other sections cover fiction, poetry, nonfiction, drama, scripts, and screenplays, she then tells you how to go about selling your work. How to deal with literary agents, contracts, fees, and bookkeeping. There is even a section on contests and grants. In the last chapter the author talks about editors and writer's block. This book is packed with info for the very beginner, so if you're thinking about being a writer and are just starting out then get this book to guide you.