The Writer's Book of Wisdom: 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft [Hardcover]

Steven Taylor Goldsberry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004 | ISBN-10: 1582972923 | ISBN-13: 978-1582972923

All writers, regardless of experience, want tips on polishing their craft, but most don't have extra time to take writing workshops or even to read lengthy texts with confusing lessons. In The Writer's Book of Wisdom, the author teaches 101 concise - and proven - techniques on everything from tone to characterization that are guaranteed to get readers writing immediately. Each piece of quick instruction is geared toward both fiction and nonfiction writers of any level. Furthermore. The authors voice is lively and authoritative as he provides unintimidating guidance; The stunning visual design makes this book both fun to use and perfect as a gift; Part writing coach and part inspirational muse, The Writer's Book of Wisdom will soon hone writers' skills and liberate their creativity.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven Goldsberry has written many novels and also poetry. With more than 25 years experience as a writing instructor, he's currently a university professor and he speaks at numerous writing conferences.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582972923
• ISBN-13: 978-1582972923
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,880,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Words of Wisdom from a Wonderful Teacher, March 13, 2005

By 

Madeline Westbrook (Houston, Tx USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Writer's Book of Wisdom: 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft (Hardcover)

The title, size and cover immediately spoke to me. I noticed the author to be Steven Taylor Goldsberry, a great teacher I had at a Maui Writer's Retreat in Hawaii. I've read every word, enjoyed every visually interesting page and find it to be full of wonder and inspiration. I will keep it by my computer. I'll buy the book for my college age grandchildren, my writer friends and wannabe writers. I plan to give a copy to each of the members of my writer's group at Rice University. It's a perfect gift book for writers. It's like attending class with Steven Goldsberry, a master teaching the art of writing. Buy this book. I think you'll be very happy you did.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Very Engaging, July 17, 2005

By 

David (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Writer's Book of Wisdom: 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft (Hardcover)

I have to apologize to Mr. Goldsberry. Being that I'm in college and poor, I didn't buy his book. However, when I saw it on display at Borders, I sat down and read the whole thing and took notes. It was really good. I highly recommend it, whether or not you can afford it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my most underlined books, January 10, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: The Writer's Book of Wisdom: 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft (Hardcover)

The exquisite production value of the book itself sometimes detracts from reading the author's advice. This hard-covered book is slightly larger than a paper back and includes delightful modern graphics in muted pastels and expensive quality paper. Sometimes this detracts your attention from Mr. Goldsberry's message. Upon reflection, I'm glad he chose this approach, and this book will remain one of my favorite books on writing fiction (the book also includes some elements of non-fiction).

Perhaps the best comment that I can make is that I could not put the book down. It's easy to read and every third rule (there are 101 Rules) stopped my greedy reading and forced me to reflect on his advice. I would guess about 1/3 of the advice is found in other popular writing books. The remainder was new to me. Perhaps some of the rules were "old rules" recast in a new light.

The advice in this book is very practical and I am sure it will change the way you write, or at least, the way you read fiction.

MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I've filed this under my Dewey Decimal System of "A+++".

John Dunbar

Sugar Land, TX