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The Creative Writer's Toolbelt Handbook
At last! The tools you need to be a better writer and produce great work. With insights from the professionals and examples from classic and contemporary literature.
The Creative Writer's Toolbelt Handbook gives you practical, accessible advice for all of the dimensions of the craft, showing you how the best techniques can be applied using quotes from some of the great works, old and new.
Here's what others have said about the book:
- "A unique and comprehensive handbook... it lays the foundations and then helps you build."
- "A very useful practical (hands-on rather than theory) guide with many (many) examples...highly recommended."
- "I've found so few advice givers as competent and informative as Andrew Chamberlain"
Each chapter covers an aspect of the craft, giving you insights that you can apply immediately to your own writing, and providing you with the confidence to go on to explore and develop your skills.
Chapter 1: Creating a Story
Learn the classic shape of stories and understand why throughout history, one particular approach to story construction has been so successful.
Chapter 2: Characters and characterisation
Explore the two primary aspects of characterisation: character essence and goal motivation and passion. Learn why getting these aspects right is most of the hard work of character development.
Chapter 3: Setting, world-building, and research
Understand the two critical requirements of a setting - that it be credible and immersive. Grounded with examples, we also look at the best way to gather and apply research, with expert insights into the process, and guidance on the important issue of understanding and writing characters who do not reflect our own heritage.
Chapter 4: Tools of the trade
Understand how to use the most important tools of the craft; from 'showing not telling' to point of view and foreshadowing to exploiting the power of sensory description.
Chapter 5: The building blocks of writing
Explore the techniques for harnessing the power of punctuation and structure, understand the power of verbs in driving the pace of a sentence.
Chapter 6: The sound of your writing
Unlock the secrets of tone, style, and voice, and wield the sharpest tools available to you: clarity, brevity, and precision.
Chapter 7: Story identity - Genre and theme
Explore the strategies for harnessing genre and trope to reassure and absorb the reader. See how symbol, dilemma, and innovation interweave with theme and moral, and how to apply these aspects to enrich and enhance our work.
Chapter 8: The Writer's Life
Living well is a step towards writing well. From physical health to mental and emotional wellbeing, the handbook offers suggestions for the writer's life. This chapter also explores the author experience with publishers and some thoughts on how to effectively market both ourselves as writers and our work.
The Creative Writer's Toolbelt Handbook gives you practical, accessible advice for all of the dimensions of the craft, showing you how the best techniques can be applied using quotes from some of the great works, old and new.
Here's what others have said about the book:
- "A unique and comprehensive handbook... it lays the foundations and then helps you build."
- "A very useful practical (hands-on rather than theory) guide with many (many) examples...highly recommended."
- "I've found so few advice givers as competent and informative as Andrew Chamberlain"
Each chapter covers an aspect of the craft, giving you insights that you can apply immediately to your own writing, and providing you with the confidence to go on to explore and develop your skills.
Chapter 1: Creating a Story
Learn the classic shape of stories and understand why throughout history, one particular approach to story construction has been so successful.
Chapter 2: Characters and characterisation
Explore the two primary aspects of characterisation: character essence and goal motivation and passion. Learn why getting these aspects right is most of the hard work of character development.
Chapter 3: Setting, world-building, and research
Understand the two critical requirements of a setting - that it be credible and immersive. Grounded with examples, we also look at the best way to gather and apply research, with expert insights into the process, and guidance on the important issue of understanding and writing characters who do not reflect our own heritage.
Chapter 4: Tools of the trade
Understand how to use the most important tools of the craft; from 'showing not telling' to point of view and foreshadowing to exploiting the power of sensory description.
Chapter 5: The building blocks of writing
Explore the techniques for harnessing the power of punctuation and structure, understand the power of verbs in driving the pace of a sentence.
Chapter 6: The sound of your writing
Unlock the secrets of tone, style, and voice, and wield the sharpest tools available to you: clarity, brevity, and precision.
Chapter 7: Story identity - Genre and theme
Explore the strategies for harnessing genre and trope to reassure and absorb the reader. See how symbol, dilemma, and innovation interweave with theme and moral, and how to apply these aspects to enrich and enhance our work.
Chapter 8: The Writer's Life
Living well is a step towards writing well. From physical health to mental and emotional wellbeing, the handbook offers suggestions for the writer's life. This chapter also explores the author experience with publishers and some thoughts on how to effectively market both ourselves as writers and our work.
330 pages, Paperback
First published September 22, 2017
About the author
Andrew J. Chamberlain
16 books72 followersAndrew J Chamberlain is a writer and creative writing tutor. His passion is to entertain and inspire readers with a range of authentic characters, acting within a great story. His latest novel 'The Centauri Survivors' was published in 2019.
He is the presenter of "The Creative Writer's Toolbelt" a regular podcast giving practical, accessible advice.
His commercially published works include three ghostwriting projects: 'A night out with the boys' (2007) 'Once an Addict?' (2007) and 'Conquering the Dragon' (2008); all through Authentic Media. Since its publication 'Once an Addict?' has sold 100k copies.
His space opera short story series, 'The Malo Kemp Assignments', and the standalone story 'Traveller's Blues"' - which he uses as a source for examples in the podcast, are available through all ebook retailers.
More recently he helped a friend write his life story based on 50 years in show business. Mick Malcolm's "Following Me Feet: A Performer's Life" is available through Kindle.
You can find out more about Andrew, get in touch, and access creative writing resources at: www.andrewjchamberlain.com
He is the presenter of "The Creative Writer's Toolbelt" a regular podcast giving practical, accessible advice.
His commercially published works include three ghostwriting projects: 'A night out with the boys' (2007) 'Once an Addict?' (2007) and 'Conquering the Dragon' (2008); all through Authentic Media. Since its publication 'Once an Addict?' has sold 100k copies.
His space opera short story series, 'The Malo Kemp Assignments', and the standalone story 'Traveller's Blues"' - which he uses as a source for examples in the podcast, are available through all ebook retailers.
More recently he helped a friend write his life story based on 50 years in show business. Mick Malcolm's "Following Me Feet: A Performer's Life" is available through Kindle.
You can find out more about Andrew, get in touch, and access creative writing resources at: www.andrewjchamberlain.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 18, 2021
The best handbook on writing. Both this and the handbook have helped me so much! The examples are marvellous (Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings). Short and easy chapters. Amazing, can't recommend this enough!
September 24, 2017
I was lucky enough to beta read the Creative Writer’s Toolbelt Handbook, and although I have read numerous writing books, the CWT Handbook is a rare beast: it’s a unique and comprehensive look at the writing craft, and has something in it for every writer, whatever their stage of development.
The Handbook is a refreshing change to many writing books. Based on the author’s Creative Writer’s Toolbelt series, there’s content from 100 podcasts and the author has packed the book with the best bits of the series. As well as advice from many authors and industry professionals, there’s a wealth of practical examples – the kind of clear, helpful examples that I struggled to find when starting out writing.
The Handbook is great for beginners, but there’s plenty of content for more experienced writers too, and the author has a deft touch with knowing how much information to pack into each section so that it never feels like there’s too much at once.
Perhaps the Handbook’s greatest strength though are its differences to the majority of books on the craft. There’s a wonderful section on the writer’s life and lifestyle towards the end, for example, that complements the technical chapters nicely and transforms the Handbook from a technical manual to a holistic approach to writing. Add in some great advice from a wealth of authors and industry professionals and the end result is a wonderful resource for writers.
The Handbook is a refreshing change to many writing books. Based on the author’s Creative Writer’s Toolbelt series, there’s content from 100 podcasts and the author has packed the book with the best bits of the series. As well as advice from many authors and industry professionals, there’s a wealth of practical examples – the kind of clear, helpful examples that I struggled to find when starting out writing.
The Handbook is great for beginners, but there’s plenty of content for more experienced writers too, and the author has a deft touch with knowing how much information to pack into each section so that it never feels like there’s too much at once.
Perhaps the Handbook’s greatest strength though are its differences to the majority of books on the craft. There’s a wonderful section on the writer’s life and lifestyle towards the end, for example, that complements the technical chapters nicely and transforms the Handbook from a technical manual to a holistic approach to writing. Add in some great advice from a wealth of authors and industry professionals and the end result is a wonderful resource for writers.
December 15, 2018
Well organized, helpful, constructive, and practical guide to creative writing. If you're a fan of the podcast it's useful to have the information in written form as well. If you're not a listener, you should be.
March 31, 2021
One of the best books on writing I've read. Andrew Chamberlain also has a podcast by the same title with lots of great examples of great writing, illustratiing with examples, the difference between just okay writing and great writing. this book puts it down in one place.
June 16, 2018
Excellent! Everything is broken down well, and the examples are fantastic and entertaining. A solid book on the gears of writing.
September 23, 2018
A wonderful resource with a strongly guided discussion. Highly recommended for authors and those who want to be authors.
March 16, 2022
My "how to manual" while I wrote my first novel. I took notes on my Kindle when a section showed me an idea. I also found the accompanying podcast very informative, with the book serving as detailed notes to the episodes. I couldn't have written my book as well without Andy Chamberlain's advice and direction.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews