Writing Tools (10th Anniversary Edition) - by Roy Peter Clark (Paperback)

About the Book

For students, aspiring novelists, and writers of memos, emails, PowerPoint presentations, and more come 50 indispensable, memorable, and usable tools from the vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute.

Book Synopsis

A special 10th anniversary edition of Roy Peter Clark's bestselling guide to writing, featuring five bonus tools.

Ten years ago, Roy Peter Clark, America's most influential writing teacher, whittled down almost thirty years of experience in journalism, writing, and teaching into a series of fifty short essays on different aspects of writing. In the past decade, Writing Tools has become a classic guidebook for novices and experts alike and remains one of the best loved books on writing available.

Organized into four sections, "Nuts and Bolts," "Special Effects," "Blueprints for Stories," and "Useful Habits," Writing Tools is infused with more than 200 examples from journalism and literature. This new edition includes five brand new, never-before-shared tools.

Accessible, entertaining, inspiring, and above all, useful for every type of writer, from high school student to novelist, Writing Tools is essential reading.

Review Quotes

"Clark is a joyful, brilliant teacher who unlocks the mysteries of literary flow. This book is one to keep near the keyboard." --Anne Hull, national reporter for the Washington Post

"Clark is a national treasure that needs to be mined aggressively." --DeWayne Wickham, USA Today

"For all the aspiring writers out there--whether you're writing a novel or a technical report--a respected scholar at Florida's Poynter Institute for Journalists pulls back the curtain on the art."--Teresa K. Weaver, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"No matter what you write--a blog, a love letter, the next great American novel--Writing Tools offers practical advice that is a pleasure to read."--St. Petersburg Times

"Pull out a favorite novel or short story, and read it with the guidance of...Clark's ideas....Readers will find new worlds in familiar places. And writers will be inspired to pick up their pens."--Boston Globe

"Roy is the Obi-Wan Kenobi of writing teachers....Like its author, Writing Tools is brilliant, openhearted, and indispensable; it's easily one of the best books ever published about our craft."--Thomas French, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Zoo Story

"Roy Peter Clark knows more about writing than anybody I know who is not currently dead." --Dave Barry, author of Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far)

About the Author

Roy Peter Clark is senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, one of the most prestigious schools for journalists in the world. He has taught writing at every level -- from schoolchildren to Pulitzer Prize-winning authors -- for more than forty years.

A writer who teaches and a teacher who writes, he has authored or edited nineteen books on writing and journalism, including The Art of X-Ray Reading, How to Write Short, Writing Tools, The Glamour of Grammar, and Help! for Writers. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he is considered a garage-band legend.