Creative Writing

by Dianne Doubtfire

Teach Yourself Creative Writing is the ideal handbook for every aspiring author. It covers all the main forms of writing--articles, short stories, poetry, plays, novels, and nonfiction--and features up-to-date examples and exercises to motivate and inspire. Throughout the book, the author offers readers clear guidance on developing their talent, helping them acquire the essential skills for a successful writing career. New chapters in this revised edition include subjects such as writing from experience, magazine short stories, research and the Internet, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

160 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 1996

Reviews

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nigel Watts' Teach Yourself "Write A Novel" was pretty good even though it was outdated, but I don't think this one is going to be of much value to anyone nowadays. All the practical stuff is not applicable anymore (how to space a page, whether to write on a typewriter, etc), and the rest is very general. It tries to cover everything and thereby doesn't really cover anything properly.

[Dave Hambleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

The advice in Dianne Doubtfire’s CREATIVE WRITING is a lot like me when my wife and I have a contest to see who can plan the most romantic evening.

Outdated.

But the chapters that weren’t promoting new technology like the word processor or reminding us that we need two spaces after a period did help. Okay, maybe not the how to write a radio play chapter.

(FADE TO NEXT REVIEW)

[Harriet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book on creative writing that i've read and it was okay. There were some chapters and some exercises, like writing the first two pages of a short story, that I really connected with but others didn't seem to fit in with the creative writing theme. I loved the encouragement it gave for new writers and the fact that it did make me do some writing exercises. I will definitely pick up more writing books or look for more writing exercises but this book just seems a little old fashioned and a lot of the content can be found online without having to read about writing non fiction articles or radio shows.

[Katri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my train reading and read this in small bites, so appreciated how the book was divided in sections.

Very nice encouraging tone through the whole book. It gave me what I wanted from it: tips for editing and better beginnings. When reading this you realize quite quickly that the book is old. The bits about buying word processors and retyping manuscripts felt almost whimsical. The writing guidance is still very much relevant to this day.

[Cole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outdated now and a bit lightweight.

[Terry]

Okay. Similar advice as other books..