Customer Reviews

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook

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I haven't come across a "How to" book for kids about writing that has impressed me--till now. Spilling Ink is a chatty, informed, get-real look at writing by two children's book authors, and it doesn't waste time diagramming sentences and listing common spelling errors. Anne Mazer, author of series like Abby Hayes and Sister Magic, and Ellen Potter, author of books like Olivia Kidney and Slob, lay out what it means to be a writer and tell kids how to get the job done.

This book is written in a thoroughly reader-friendly style, with the two authors taking turns giving advice in a manner reminiscent of blog posts. Hayes and Potter know their stuff, and it shows: as a writer, I was pleased to see such good ideas expressed so simply, not to mention humorously. For instance, the chapter and section titles are often entertaining: "More Crawling Lizards, Please," "Truth or Dare," "The Robo-Narrator," and "Belly Buttons" are a few of my favorites.

Take a look at the book's tone in this selection from Ellen Potter: "Before I started writing seriously, I was under the delusion that 'real' writers sit down and write out the entire story in one nearly perfect, spectacularly clever draft. Oh, sure, maybe they would change a word or two, or rename one of their characters 'Nathan' because his original name, 'Jake,' reminds them too much of their cousin Jake who belches the theme music to retro TV shows. But that's about it. Wrong! Hugely, profoundly, utterly wrong."

Spilling Ink offers instructive analogies, such as comparing a story's setting to a mood ring, and useful techniques, such as "the chicken-nugget circle." The authors provide short writing samples to illustrate their points here and there, which is so much more helpful than mere explanations. A writing activity at the end of each chapter is called "I Dare You," e.g., "Write a scene about a circus, but make the mood dark and grim." These activities are so spot-on that they're practically a shock--in contrast, I've seen far too many writing practice assignments in literature textbooks and school workbooks that weren't particularly relevant.

Here writing concepts are explained charmingly, and, more important, clearly. The idea of letting your characters do their own thing and not over-managing them is tricky for many grown-up writers to understand, but Potter uses the idea of "Don't Be a Bully" to explain it. And Mazer tells us how she was inspired by those pre-Christmas calendar kiosks at the mall to create fun chapter headers for one of her series--illustrating how writers can transform everyday experiences into fiction.

Mazer and Potter share their writing process with us; for example, showing how they brainstormed to choose the title for this book. They address problems that other books about writing don't always pinpoint, such as "Avoiding the Mad Dash," that tendency to slap on an ending that young writers--and some older ones--are prone to. Spilling Ink even covers topics like journaling and working with a writing partner.

Matt Phelan's illustrations further add to the cheerful tone of the book, showing us sturdy young writers in spot art sprinkled throughout the pages.

One of the book's best treats is the Appendix. Just when you think it's over, you find out that Anne and Ellen have interviewed each other in a section called "Spilling Secrets," which is full of fun biographical tidbits and a bonus slant on what it means to be a writer.

I've seen a lot of boring books about how to write interesting books, which naturally struck me as ironic. But Spilling Ink takes its own advice: it's funny, specific, fascinating, and useful. I don't just recommend it to its target audience of 4th-6th graders, I recommend it to aspiring (and even published) writers who are in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and beyond.

I really loooooooooooooove this book! I have been trying to write books forever and this will surely help! I am a 6th grader and this book has wonderful ideas and I love how they don't make it all about spelling and the boring stuff - you can get the other writing books for that-! The pictures are cute and funny, and how they word things in here are hilarious!I would recommend this book to kids or adults,this book is totally awesome!The only thing is that I would like a little more info for starting stories and how to not get bored with what you are writing. Overall, this is a fantastic book!

This was recommended to me by a teacher friend. I am a former teacher and current homeschooling mom schooling children in several grades from kindergarten through middle school. I am using this book with my 4th and 7th graders. It is perfect. The practical, personal advice is written in a funny, easy-to-read format. The "I Dare You" ideas are getting my kids writing - without tears and arguments. I have to admit it's motivating me, too. We are loving the writing process! I highly recommend Spilling Ink for all educational settings and elementary through middle schoolers.

I was child writer. Which is to say, I was one of those kids who wrote endless stories between the ages of nine and fourteen or so. Of these stories, I finished only one. And I remember taking a writing class over a summer once that I enjoyed, but otherwise I didn't have a lot of direction when it came to my writing. I dabbled a bit in high school, but for the most part my creative side floundered for many years before getting a bit of a revivification in adulthood. So it's impossible for me not to wonder how all of that might have been different had I encountered a book like "Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook" as a child. As far as I can tell, there wasn't anything like Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter's book back in the 80s or 90s. For that matter, there hasn't been much like it in the 2000s or 2010s! Mazer and Potter have essentially come up with a juvenile-friendly version of Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird". I don't invoke that standard of inspirational writing lightly when I compare it to this book, either. Though there might be the occasional detail I'd expand upon or move about in this title, for the most part "Spilling Ink" is the perfect book (or gift, for that matter) for any child who dabbles in putting their words in other people's heads.

Kids may know author Anne Mazer best from her "The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes" series. Ellen Potter, on the other hand, is better known for the "Olivia Kidney" series or her individual books like "SLOB". Now these two authors have joined forces to provide their young readers and incipient writers with a bit of guidance. "Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook" splits into three neat and tidy sections: "Part I: Ready, Set, Go!", "Part II: Crafting Your Story", and "Part III: The Writer's Brain". Within those sections, the authors discuss everything from voice and revision to writer's block and writing partners. The result is an exhaustive but not exhausting series of practical points of advice for kids interested in becoming that most glorious of occupations: writers.

Mazer and Potter work as well as they do together partly because their written voices meld well and partly because they consistently make good points. For example, right from the start they make it clear that in your book the main character is going to have to want something. I can't tell you how many published children's books I read where the characters noodle about, not wanting anything in particular while interesting things happen to them. Some adult writers could benefit from the advice in this story, I think. Another good point is made about making sure your title matches your text. You don't want a funny title on a serious book, after all. "If your story is dark and grim and your title is funny, your readers are going to expect a few chuckles. People hate to not chuckle when they are all set to chuckle. It's like holding up your hand for a high five and not getting one."

The usual groundwork is covered in this story, but there are also some unique choices as well. For one thing, I was surprised to see that Potter and Mazer include an entire section to the art of writing picture books. It would never occur to me that a child writer would want to write a picture book, but why not? I bet some of them would enjoy it. Around the time Anne brought up what it was like to write a series, though, I was intrigued. It seems as if the authors here are making a point of not talking down to their child readers. They're treating them like real writers, and bringing up the areas they themselves know best. I noticed that they didn't discuss what it was like to write a graphic novel or a nonfiction title, but that probably has as much to do with the fact that the authors haven't traipsed all that often into those worlds as it does with the fact that this is really a book about straight up fiction writing. Nonfiction and GNs are a whole different ballgame (though you can hand a kid "Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics" if they really want to know how to do it).

There were three things in this book that really set it apart from the usual writing advice stock out there. After all, advice is not inherently fun. You need to spice up your text a bit, even if everything you say is good, sane, and healthy. To combat the potential snoritude of the book were the fiction examples, the "I DARE YOU" exercises, and the illustrations. I will explain. Often when going over the finer points of constructing a strong story, Mazer and Potter would write little fictional sections to include as examples. My favorite of these, bar none, were the sections discussing the made up tale of "Boris the Bullet Boy". Potter uses this story to explain where a person might want to begin a story. She does an excellent job of it, to the point where the reader really does want to know more about Boris and his puny little head. The "I DARE YOU" exercises appear as separate portions dotted throughout the text. They're not strict assignments, more lures to get kids writing. By saying "I DARE YOU" the authors are encouraging kids to write on their own, not forcing them into doing one thing or another. Of course, once this book starts getting handed out in Creative Writing classes, then those suggestions will actually become assignments. Ah well. As for the third part, Matt Phelan was the artist asked to create small interstitial illustrations to complement the text. He does a good job of it too. There are really only so many ways to show kids writing or thinking about writing, or excited about writing. He seems to have meticulously covered each and every one. He even illustrates some of the side stories (like the aforementioned Boris).

Now, there is one way in which kids today write that I wish the authors had touched upon just a little bit more. Fanfiction. For a lot of kids today, that's how they start writing. The closest the authors come to mentioning Fanfiction is in Section 6: Blackberries, Raspberries, and Story Ideas, where they suggest at one point, "If you can't get any ideas at all, you can build on other people's ideas . . . You can also take a favorite character and write a story about him or her. This is different from copying someone else's words. We all can and should be inspired by other people's work." Amen to that. Now the way in which most kids do this, and then show off their work, are through various Fanfiction websites. Should Mazer and Potter have mentioned this fact? Maybe warned kids away from sites where the Fanfiction is a tad, uh, adult for their tastes? It probably couldn't have hurt.

I think again about when I was a child writer and I wonder, "Would I have wanted this book back then? Would I have read it? And if I had read it, how would I have read it?" Knowing me, I probably would have skimmed the book for the parts that really interested me. Maybe I would have gone to all the "I DARE YOU" sections and done those exercises. Maybe I would have gone from the back of the book and read forwards. Part of what I like about Mazer and Potter's work here is that the book is infinitely flexible in this way. There will be a certain breed of child reader who will feel that it is necessary to start at the beginning of the book and to read it from cover to cover. But knowing children (and heck, knowing writers) a lot of them will use the book for skimming and browsing. They'll find what they need, use it, then come back to find another little tidbit of what they need. And that's an okay way of reading too. No matter how they come to it or read it, though, "Spilling Ink" is pretty much one the best young writer's handbooks of its kind I've ever seen. Inspiration can come from a lot of places. Now a lot of inspiration can come from a single place. A necessary purchase.

For ages 9-12.

I'm eight years old and when I grow up I want to be an author and some other things. (Long story.) I like writing stories and articles, even now, but I don't have any ideas. All I can do is use ideas from other books! But when I started to read "Spilling Ink" by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, I got so many more ideas! Now, I feel like whenever I need some advice or my story goes completely wacky and totally the wrong way, I just look in "Spilling Ink" and I can get back on track! If you want to write a story, a book report, or something else, and you don't no where to start, then read Spilling Ink! It's sure to give you some ideas and information that will help you along the way!

As a fourth grade teacher, I appreciate a writing book that speaks directly to kids instead of to teachers. My school subscribes to the methods of Lucy Caulkins and the Columbia Teacher's College Writing Workshop. This book fits that program perfectly. The writing exercises and the language are fun, and any references are kid-friendly. I use this in combination with Writing Magic, by Gail Carson Levine. My lessons have included more fun writing time since buying this book. My students love it.

Enjoy the humour and ease of writing aids without sounding like a school class. A great help to any aspiring writer, young or old. Plan to incorporate this book into a future Teen Writing Program I have planned for the library

Wish the cover didn't look so gender specific though, I think they could have done without the girl and just left ink spill.

This is the best guide I've seen for upper elementary and middle school kids who want to write fiction. Adults could benefit, too, especially if they want to write for kids. The authors have a conversational approach that reassures under-confident writer (which is pretty much everyone). They give lots of examples and draw from their own experiences and writing. They give different points of view on some topics, which is a real asset--not all writers have the same methods or habits. I've already given my copy away to a 10-year-old writer in my neighborhood, who's putting it to good use.

Thoroughly enjoyable, at times hysterical, and always fun, this is not a boring how-to book. The excellent advice benefits both aspiring and seasoned writers. (I especially enjoy the bits about working while kids entertain themselves with a variety of methods, such as diapering the dog or buttering their heads.) For more reviews check out my website, ChildressInk. -Kim Childress, Book Editor, Girls' Life Magazine

I used this with my creative writing class and actually purchased copies for them. It has been one of their favorites and one of mine.