A Writer's Tool Kit: 12 Proven Ways You Can Make Your Writing Stronger―Today!

by Carroll Dale Short

Analyzing his own writing and that of his teachers, and reflecting on the writing advice he had been given over the years, Carroll Dale Short’s epiphany was the recognition of a dozen practical fundamentals of good writing. As one would expect from the author of The Shining Shining Path (available from NewSouth Books), the book is also fun to read. Drawing upon example after example, Short reveals the shortcuts and techniques of strong writing, providing easy ways to use transitions, enhance narrative sequence, and spice up dialogue. Reading this tool kit will improve any writer, from expert to novice.

Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

Carroll Dale Short, a native of Shanghi, Alabama, has published fiction and non-fiction in Redbook, The New York Times, USA Today, The National Observer, Newsweek, American lawyer, The Runner, The Oxford American, Birmingham, Southern Humanities Review, UAB Magazine, Roanoke Review, Medical Center, Country Music, Appalachian Journal, Arts and Sciences, The Runner, Business Alabama, South Carolina Review, Aura: Southern Fiction, Country America, Appalachian Ways, Southern Exposure, and dozens of other periodicals. His writing has been anthologized in the textbook Sanctuaries: Readings for College Writers, and he is a contributor to the international reference volumes Magill’s Literary Annual and The Sixties in America and a book reviewer for Kliatt Librarian’s Journal.

Short was chosen as the top young writer in the U.S. in Redbook’s first annual fiction contest. He has twice been named the state’s best newspaper columnist by the Alabama Press Association, and is a five-time winner of the Southern Literary Festival Prize. A radio adaptation of his short story Evening Glass was featured on National Public Radio, and his plays Reunion and A Mountain Chord were staged by Berea Kentucky College and community theater groups around Alabama.

He has worked as a newspaper and magazine editor, a television producer, book editor, layout designer, advertising photographer, radio DJ (the show "Saturday on the Front Porch on WVSU-FM, featuring traditional Appalachian, gospel, and blues music), corporate communications consultant, and teacher—a journalism instructor for 17 years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and an instructor in fiction and playwriting at the Alabama School of Fine Arts—and has done readings and seminars at colleges across the U.S.

Short’s first novel The Shining, Shining Path (1995) was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a boldly imaginative adventure," and by author Dennis Covington, whose Salvation on Sand Mountain was a National Book Award finalist, as "a wise and compassionate book by a major Southern writer". Short’s essay collection I Left My Heart in Alabama (1988) was called by novelist Jesse Hill Ford, "a work reflecting purity of aim and purpose that is rare in literature . . . superb entertainment, by one of our best contemporary writers"

His third book, a collection of poetry and essays titled A Migration of Clowns, was published in April, 2000. A work of non-fiction, The People’s Lawyer: The Life and Times of Julian , was published in September 2000. In this book, Short turns his hand toward the biography of a colorful Southern lawyer who refuses to fit into any convenient pigeonholes. Short's subject, a former Alabama assistant attorney general who is now one of the South's prominent plaintiff's attorneys, gained a reputation for taking unpopular and often controversial cases. This authorized bio tracks McPhillip's career from collegiate All-American heavyweight wrestler to equally dogged watchdog of the public trust.

Reviews

[Polina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first ever book on writing I have read as I venture into this new and exciting pursuit. Being my first, I have read the book from cover to cover and found it "just right" in terms of length and density and was able to immediately apply some tools, while noticing that others have affected the way I think about and structure my writing. This won't inspire you with brilliant ideas but will give you the tools of implementing the ideas you already have.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must have for writers! You can start in the middle, end, or the subject you are working on. Mr. Short is an great writer and certainly someone you want to learn from.