Writeriffic: Creativity Training for Writers [Paperback]

Eva Shaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

This complete writing program helps emerging or blocked writers launch a solid writing career. Topics covered include increasing self-confidence, staying motivated, undertanding how rituals can help keep one writing, and reading books to improve writing. Advice and tips for overcoming writer's block and the fear of beginning to write are also provided.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Take your writing career, your writing dreams seriously. This book is just a baby step to help that happen. I urge you to invest in yourself. Creativity is fun, exciting and oh, so satisfying. Won't you let me mentor you? This book workbook, journal and how-to text is a great start.

About the Author

Eva Shaw is the author of more than 60 books, including Writing the Nonfiction Book, Resumes for Women, and Writing and Selling Magazine Articles. She teaches online writing courses offered at 1,200 colleges and universities worldwide.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Writeriffic Publishing Group (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970575815
• ISBN-13: 978-0970575814
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Writerrific" is fun, but not at cover price..., May 17, 2004

By 

H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writeriffic: Creativity Training for Writers (Paperback)

"Writerrific" is subtitled: "Creativity Training for Writers." The idea is that it gives hints, tips, and exercises that will help you to get past what author Eva Shaw calls "page fright" and turn yourself into a font of creative ideas. There are some topics in here that sound interesting, including "Writeriffic and You: Styling Your Creative Life", "Your Inner Writer", "Your Writer's Voice", "Creative Kick Starts", and "Can You Make It as a Writer?". But don't get excited just yet; these only take up about 14 pages, largish print with very large section headings.

On the other hand, the advice here is useful. Ms. Shaw is the author of many (many!) books and magazine articles, and the teacher of an online class, and she has some practical and handy advice to pass on. Ms. Shaw strikes a nice balance between encouraging anyone who wants to try to write, and reminding us that writing takes skill and work.

I think the exercises are good. Not stunning. But certainly if you're having trouble getting started, the exercises provided here might get you going. Some of these are fairly traditional (pick a word at random from the dictionary and start writing on it). A few are actually a little different (cut photos from magazines of people and animals and match animal heads to people bodies. Write using your creation as a character). Technically there are 19 exercises. Many of them have plenty of possible variations, however, so if you don't get bored, they can keep you busy for a while.

On the one hand, the single blank page that goes with each exercise might lower the barriers of resistance when you're trying to get yourself to do the first exercise or three. On the other hand, I hardly feel that it was necessary to make the latter two-thirds of the book entirely blank as well. The back of the book lists its price as $14.95--I can get a stack of cheap notebooks or scrap paper for that price (or just pop open a word processor window on my computer for even less)! I would be much happier to pay a third of that (maybe half) for the part of the book that contained text and exercises and buy my own paper. Ms. Shaw could done this without sacrificing the single blank page that goes with each exercise.

Ultimately, if you find this one in the bargain bin it's worth getting. It is not, however, worth the full cover price unless you have too much money on your hands.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great investment in my creative writing, January 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Writeriffic: Creativity Training for Writers (Paperback)

Don't let the small price of this must-have writing book make you think it's ho-hum. It's has become just the spark I've needed to keep the momentum going in my writing career, after a lengthy bout with writer's block. The exercises are simple, "deceptively simple" according to Dr. Shaw, and have made me stretch more than I thought possible. Now my creative thinking has changed and it seems that everyday I see and understand more of what I'm to do as a writer. Besides the book is fun and the advice is timely, non intimidating and just as encouraging as Dr. Shaw is in person. I've attended some of her online writing classes and that coupled with this incredible investment has propelled me to selling three articles and placing a number of essays. If you're in a period of doubting your creativity, get this book. I did and I'm telling all my writing friends.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kick Start to Great Writing, July 10, 2004

By 

Ellen Fink - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writeriffic: Creativity Training for Writers (Paperback)

How can you not love this little gem? First of all you can take it wherever you go. Write in it every day; use it for ideas for articles, essays and short stories; and when you feel like you haven't got a word worth writing left inside of you, go to page 49, and start putting some of the words that are out there together - I'll guarantee you'll be off and writing. It's a lot of writing practice for a little money - a wise investment at any price.