Customer Reviews

Complete Guide to Writing Fiction and Nonfiction, and Getting it Published (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have taken 4 Creative Writing classes, each given by a published author. I was one of the better students in each class. This book was the text of one of the classes. It was the only text book, and the class was the only class, that I actually learned how to write better. Other classes and other text books discussed how professional writers write but they gave me no usable tools that I could apply to improve my writing. This book will make a dedicated literate person into a very good amateur writer and it will tell that good amateur how to construct a manuscript that is publishable. It will not make a good amateur into a Steinbeck. The other "how to write" books I have read (and I have read quite a few) attempted to make me into a great artist. None of them, however, added anything to my toolbox of writing skills.

I used this as a handbook for several years before I made the mistake of loaning it to a friend who had the good sense to steal it from me, so I am buying another copy.

I have been teaching various mainstream writing classes for twenty years now and have used several writing books; but this is by far the best teaching tool in my arsenal.
I have been told time and time again by my students that this book actually helps them learn to hone their own writing. The examples used are short and on target. Many students who had taken previous college courses say that this book far surpasses any college text they used in the past.

What I like about the book is that it shows the student how to take their own writing and make it better. It is NOT a book that intimidates students with long literary pieces written by famous authors. Instead it uses short paragraphs of literary pieces to prove the point of the lesson.

I have worn out two books throughout the years and my third is now in sad shape. Soon I will order a fourth. If you are serious about learning the craft of writing then this is the book for you.

What else can I say? I have been writing since birth (well, it feels like it) and found this book at the ripe old age of 39 - where has it been all my life? I learned more from Pat Kubis and Bob Howland in "The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction and Nonfiction" than I have in years of college writing courses, tutorials, personal practice, and dozens of other writing text. Truely indispensable. Worth every penny. The next book I publish will have a thank you noted to Kubis and Howland... no kidding.

This book was offered at the university for students that took creative writing. I could not attend the class, but I got the book. This is one of the best books written about writing for beginners that want to know what to do and not to do. Each chapter contains valuable information. The book describes each topic thoroughly in an engaging prose and examples. When you read this book, you want to take notes along the way.
This book helped me to create a master plot for my own book. Also, the book has given me many ideas to use.
So this work is a treasure that new writers want to keep at home for reference.
The only one part that needs revision is at the end of the book: writers don't use old typewriters anymore. Technology is getting ahead of us. You don't need to count words by yourself. The computer will do it for you. The book was written over twenty years ago. So many aspects of printing and typing have changed.

I highly recommend this book to students who want to publish their novels someday and writers who want to improve their art of writing!