A little reviewe. I think this book will be really useful for you

Writing follows "laws" and writing can be learned. The author, journalist and vice president of a journalism school Roy Peter Clark presents 50 tools to do better writing. Many examples from journalism and fiction explain the tools. And several exercises invite you to join in and join in.

Roy Peter Clark is the vice president of a journalism school. He has published various books on writing and journalism in the United States. In addition, he works occasionally, as before, as a journalist.

This journalistic origin can also be seen in his book. Several of the "50 tools for good writing" and the more than 200 text examples and exercises come from a journalistic environment. Many others from the fiction.

His book divided into four parts: Part 1 is devoted to the basics of writing. Part 2, with its "special devices", presents ways to use language consciously for specific purposes. Part 3 provides "blueprints" for "organizing" (or better: designing and structuring) texts. And Part 4 presents useful "habits" that can help authors (writing) life. (This could be summarized under the term self-management.)

The book consists of 50 chapters. Each chapter discusses a "tool". The chapters follow a uniform structure: the reader gets an introduction to the tool. Text examples explain this tool. And a small section "Workshop" concludes the chapter with some exercises and invites you to do it yourself.

I think it is nice that Clark often enriches his chapters with personal anecdotes. So the featured tools get a "face" and become more tangible. You can understand them better and remember more easily.

From the content:

Part One: The A and O [The Basics]

Sentence with subject and predicate. The advantage of strong, active verbs. Dealing with active and passive. Beware of adverbs. When do you take too long, when too short sentences? Advantages of parallel sentence constructions. Punctuation. Cut and delete. etc.

Part Two: Special Effects [The Special Equipment]

Simplify complex. Leave "Keywords" space. Let's see with details. Choose unusual names. Beware of worn-out phrases, metaphors and Co. sales design. Game with sequences and numbers. Understatement and exaggeration. The "Head of Abstraction". Develop your own writing voice. etc.

Part Three: Plans [The Blueprints]

Outline and subtitles. The difference between story and story. Dialogues and quotes. "Show, do not tell." Comparisons. Allusions. Internal cliffhanger for more tension. The "engine of a story". Play with repetitions. Playing with perspective. Slice in scenes. Archetypes. Final forms. etc.

Part Four: Useful Habits [The Habits]

Guideline and target. Research. Learning by reading. Write in sections. Building a network of helpers. Dealing with inner critic. Dealing with criticism. Stages in writing. etc. The chapters of his book were originally written by Clark as articles for the website of the journalism school. That is, the chapters are self-contained, but the book lacks a closed whole. It is probably best to use it as a method source: take it out of the closet, look it up, be smarter.

The tools are a mixture of "standard writing knowledge," which is often read in writing guides, and "special tips," which can be turned on one or the other screw. I'm having a hard time with Clark's writing style. I think you could work out the essentials of a tool even more, and sometimes write "catchier", more precise. That is why it sometimes bothers me to grasp immediately what the author wants to tell me. But that says, as usual, above all something about my own priorities. Others may want to follow the game of language more comfortably and get into the depths of an article. The best thing for the reader is to edit the chapters and maybe even do the exercises. Then it fits.

The author makes a sympathetic impression on me. He looks rather modest, takes back, writes friendly. This is a good thing for me.