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nhdk's review against another edition
5.0
Cracking book. Crammed full of tips and tricks. I’ve taken loads of notes. Though I would say the book is predominately about dialogue rather than a holistic view of self editing. Still WELL worth the read for any writer old or new.
noranne's review against another edition
3.0
Not as helpful as I hoped. Some good info, but nothing I hadn't already read somewhere else. And the editing examples, which I was really looking forward to, were remarkably unhelpful. In many cases I liked the before version better! Maybe I'm just weird or something. Anyway, I did enjoy the checklists at the end of each chapter as a quick reference for things to look at while editing.
callmeren's review against another edition
5.0
Holy shit, it really IS as useful as everyone says it is
drblockbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books that you have to read at the right time in your life. If I had read this ten years ago, I would have said, "Very helpful. I'll be sure to remember this when I finally become a writer." Now that I've published a few dozen books, I read this book and thought, "This is the Holy Grail. This book is absolutely amazing."
I guess, what I am trying to say is, if you want to be a writer or if you already are one, READ this book. Then, read it again at least once per year until everything inside its covers have been integrated into your being. Great stuff.
I guess, what I am trying to say is, if you want to be a writer or if you already are one, READ this book. Then, read it again at least once per year until everything inside its covers have been integrated into your being. Great stuff.
thewallflower00's review against another edition
3.0
As I read this book, I didn't think it would be useful. Then I got to the second half, and it got a lot better.
The first discusses a lot of standards that orange-green belt writers should already know. Like "showing vs. telling" and point of view. If you've read the good writing books like "On Writing", "Characters and Viewpoint", and "Dare to Be a Great Writer: 329 Keys to Powerful Fiction", then you know those basics.
However, some of the later tips do come in handy for reaching that blue belt, like proportion, unsophisticated prose, and the writing exercises. You'd be amazed how often you write something, know in the back of your head that it's stupid, but still fail to fully recognize it. That's why I still check out the writing books from time to time, even though I now see that "On Writing", the first and basically my bible, has screwed me up somewhat.
It's certainly better than "Bird by Bird".
The first discusses a lot of standards that orange-green belt writers should already know. Like "showing vs. telling" and point of view. If you've read the good writing books like "On Writing", "Characters and Viewpoint", and "Dare to Be a Great Writer: 329 Keys to Powerful Fiction", then you know those basics.
However, some of the later tips do come in handy for reaching that blue belt, like proportion, unsophisticated prose, and the writing exercises. You'd be amazed how often you write something, know in the back of your head that it's stupid, but still fail to fully recognize it. That's why I still check out the writing books from time to time, even though I now see that "On Writing", the first and basically my bible, has screwed me up somewhat.
It's certainly better than "Bird by Bird".