Teach Yourself Creative Writing (Teach Yourself)

Wow! this little book is a revelation. How to Write books are normally very dry but this one is a very lively read. It's full of practical exercises and tips from loads of modern writers and also full of sensible advice. It's definitely a book's very encouraging for new writers and for those of us looking for ways to inspire students as a new term starts, it's a real gift.

I am not really a writer. Not yet anyway. However, I do teach creative writing to both adults and children and had the previous edition of this book as part of my basic tool-kit. I have to say that this new edition is a great improvement. It's written in a lively style, the examples are contemporary and well chosen and Stephen May has also gathered an enormous number of tips from other writers and it is these insights that make the book unique. Most useful for me next term will be the hundred or so exercises which will help kick start even the most rebarbative of my students. I'm sure this book will be a help to aspiring writers, but for teachers of writing it is probably an essential purchase.

Great writers are born not made. That is what I had always thought. But that's only partly right. Books like this one can save you a lot of time! I had no intention of buying any sort of How To book, but I came across this one by chance and was hooked. This is the teacher I could have done with years ago. Helpful, practical, inspiring. I particularly liked the author's advice that there are two good times to plant a tree: the best time - twenty years ago. And the second best time. Which is now. It is too late to worry about the best time, but - after years of procrastination - I am finally ready to make the most of the second best time... Now that I've seen the light this will probably not be the last How To guide I buy, but it might well be the most useful...

Over a long life in many varied jobs and places, I have gathered up thousands of stories. Friends and family have long said that I should write these down before it was too late. I have wanted to do this, but somehow never foundf the time. Also creative writing seemed such a daunting undertaking. Besides, I wasn't even sure what kind of writing I wanted to do! Then my daughter-in-law bought me this book and things began to make sense. It is a practical little book with lots of interesting exercises and handy tips. I read it quickly - it's a surprisingly good read as well as useful - and was inspired to go through it again, this time following the exercises. It was like a little university course in writing! I now have a lot more confidence in my writing and am even contemplating beginning a novel!

This is a new and much improved edition of Teach Yourself Creative Writing. It is full of practical advice, given in a clear, lucid and inspiring way. The author has a sparky tone and a forthright manner and even made me laugh out loud a few times. Not easy to do in a self-help manual! Best of all he has collected up tips and exercises from literally dozens of contemporary writers to help guide you through the process of various kinds of writing project. If you know someone who has always been banging on about wanting to start writing - this is a good summer read, or a birthday present. For a new writer it is nice to have a candid friend to rely on and this book feels like having an experienced mate on hand all the time. It is a guide which is insightful and never patronising.