A Manual of Writer's Tricks: Essential Advice for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers [Paperback]

David L. Carroll (Author), Sheree Bykofsky (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1569246076 | ISBN-13: 978-1569246078 | Publication Date: September 29, 2000 | Edition: 2nd

The author of How to Prepare Your Manuscript for a Publisher now presents more essential advice for fiction and nonfiction writers. This invaluable reference offers easy access to stratagems and tried-and-true literary shortcuts that help writers save time, improve style and avoid common pitfalls. Whether a beginner or student, amateur or professional, readers will refer time and again to David Carroll's practical tips for: writing with expression; improving structure; correcting and rewriting with greater efficiency; developing "writer's logic"; avoiding the hazards of burnout, boredom and lack of motivation; dealing with writer's block; and reworking scholarly prose for greater clarity.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The bane of the bookstore appearance, for many touring authors, is the post-reading Q&A. "What time of day do you write?" is a typical question. "Do you use a computer, or pencil and paper?" If only the audience members could figure out whether morning or afternoon is best, laptop or No. 2 lead, then they, too, could write a great American novel. If only they knew the tricks that published authors know.

So it's understandable that David L. Carroll called his book A Manual of Writer's Tricks. There are tricks here--what to do when you're stuck, how to write about dry subjects, how to find authentic period words, how to improve your opening (try cutting your first page altogether, Carroll advises, as it's often the victim of "stage fright"). Carroll's quotations by other writers spruce up his text smartly. There is probably plenty of information in this book that would be of use to the beginning writer. But it is all so haphazardly and superficially presented that one could hardly deem it, as the book's subtitle purports, "essential advice." And some of the recommendations, such as avoiding "frequent repetition of a character's name by varying names and descriptions," seem outright wrong. Even more, one wishes Carroll had taken his own advice and trimmed some of the excess verbiage off this already slim volume. It's hard to trust a writer who hasn't made sure that he himself has homed in on (not, horrors, as he writes here, "honed in on") all the right words. Jane Steinberg

About the Author

David L. Carroll, a graduate of Harvard University, is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and the author of nearly fifty books, including How to Prepare Your Manuscript for a Publisher.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 2nd edition (September 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569246076
• ISBN-13: 978-1569246078
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,520,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you write, here's an inexpensive secret weapon, January 15, 2001

By 

Dan Seidman (Got Influence, Intergalactic HQ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Manual of Writer's Tricks: Essential Advice for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers (Paperback)

This one's for everyone - fiction and non-fiction. You pick up this slim paperback, rifle the pages and bang! A Manual of Writer's Tricks gives you ammunition to instantly liven your writing. My copy is well-highlighted. The foreword is written by literary agent Sheree Bykofsky who once sent me a delightful rejection letter. Some examples (I just gave you one - irony); Show don't tell - instead of "the ship was heavily weighted," say "Excess cargo made her tilt slightly to port." Use words that evoke images - instead of "my back is sore all over," say "I ache along every nerve ending and vertebra of my spine." You get the picture, now go get the book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Page after page of practical, useful advice, February 15, 2004

By 

John C. Dunbar (Sugar Land, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Manual of Writer's Tricks: Essential Advice for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers (Paperback)

Like the other reviewers of this book I was amazed by this collection of writing tips.

The book is loaded with two to four paragraph recommendations on topics including style, structure, colorful writing, revision, writing exercises, word choice.

Ample exercises are given where appropriate. This book is easy to read and you feel that the author is right there sitting next to you as you read the book. He's gently giving you tips on improving your writing, unlike the tough commands of Strunk and White.

I would like to list all of the items that I found interesting and useful, but there would be too many. So, here's one that I just turned to:

"Always include some type of conflict... It's a not-so-well-kept secret among writers that the principle of conflict and resolution, so dear to the novelist's heart, applies just as successfuly to exposition and non-ficton as it does to fiction, even the most theoretical and academic kinds." He then goes on to list eleven ways to include conflict in your non-fiction. He also describes some examples using conflict.

I highly recommend this book, it is one of my favorites on writing.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For what it is, extremely well done, August 27, 2003

By 

Gary Riley (Webster, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Manual of Writer's Tricks: Essential Advice for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers (Paperback)

This book is page after page of distilled advice on writing. No amusing anecdotes. No inspirational thoughts. These suggestions could be found in more verbose books, but as a quick reference this one is hard to beat.