Great Writing Experience
356816
Love these pens. I buy boxes of them because everyone at work keeps stealing them.  They have a smooth flow and never run out on me like traditional ball-point pens.

The line produced by these pens is very dark and thick, depending on the surface you are writing on it may stay wet for a few seconds after writing and may be smudged if you are not careful, that is the price that you pay if you want to use Gel Ink.

Always be careful to take them out of your pocket before you wash your clothes, I ruined an entire load of laundry after one exploded in either the washer or dryer.  I was able to salvage some clothes after that debacle, but not many.
4399649
Highly recommend this book for writing . I began using this method a couple of years ago with kindergarten students and have seen huge improvement in writing & developing a love of writing in my k classroom. We start the year with one word they really want to learn to write (yep even Pokmon ) and we go over the sounds and penmanship before they write it in their journals and then we expand to a sentence and then when the student is ready we go to writing short stories (fiction and non fiction ) . I'm amazed each year how much they grow ! They're eager and excited because it's topics they care about .
195664
This is a great book. It was funny, encouraging and informative. I had tried my had at writing once and it took me years to finish a novel. But when I read this I was reminded of one simple fact... Writers write. I told my wife and kids that I was going to be mentally checked out for a month and then I went about the fun of writing. 1600 words a day came and went and instead of being slowed down by re-writing every other paragraph, I was able to have enjoy creating a story and at the end of 29 days, I had a 60,000 page novel complete with loveable and despicable characters, I even worked in a subplot. The novel wasn't magically ready for publication after one draft, but it is something that I can edit and hopefully get out there.

Chris Baty, got me to think about sitting down and putting one word after the other and letting the story develop. It was awesome.
1117164
This book is like taking a writing class.  The chapters give easy "why didn't I think of that" suggestions and they build upon each other.  The author has a good sense of humor, even making fun of himself.  I really got a lot out of his stories of famous writers before they were successful, learning  things they tried that did or didn't work for them.  This, as a class would be, is a book to be read in small chunks, not even whole chapters to absorb the info. and to "do the "homework".  I really learned a lot and it is an enjoyable read..
397354
If you are new to descriptive writing, this is a wonderful introduction to the art.

At first read of the title I thought this may be a book with a technical lean. I was wrong. As the writer states: This booklet is a simple aid to sweeten your writing. Ah! That's why it has a honey pot image on the cover.

As a prolific non-fiction writer I avoid the use of "flowery" descriptions, for obvious reasons. However, as a wannabe novelist and short story writer, sight of the content in this booklet had my head buzzing and the warm blood in my aging body flowing faster with anticipation.

The pictures that quickly formed in my mind while reading the descriptive language gave me hope - the hope that I could write a novel people might actually enjoy reading from beginning to end.

On the downside, as with many Kindle books I read/review, the formatting (font sizes, headings/sub-headings, text flow/spacing) is in need of attention to make it a "smoother" read.
892520
I love Scott King's writing style and direct approach. While I probably won't ever write a novel in 5 days (or attempt it), I got some great insight into how to more efficiently write a novel. Scott writes in a conversational tone, to which it is easy to relate. Great book for all aspiring novelists! Highly recommend.
3619695
I was intrigued by the title and tried out the 30 day plan of writing 50000 words. It works and the words of wisdom and encouragement really helped with the process of writing. Thank you! I will continue to use it for future writing projects.
3288998
The only writing program that my daughter has ever enjoyed. She actually looks forward to sitting down and doing a writing lesson now. Not only that, her writing skills are improving. Thank you Susan Wise Bauer.
1832670
This book is absolutely amazing. I went through the book and did all the exercises in 2 days, I know the book suggests doing it in 1 session. Since then I have been writing consistently and without feeling stagnant, the words have been flowing much easier.  I would highly recommend the book to anyone who feels like they have writers block.
147215
Oh, my goodness, can you write or can you write. I got into the first 70 pages yesterday and was impressed out of my mind.  You have terrific writing skills, fabulous metaphors, great examples. What a book.  It read like a novel.  Did not imagine that the topic of marketing could ever be that interesting.  your psychological references are terrific.  It will be on my list of books to feed clients.  Not only would I recommend it for anyone concerned about doing business better, but I think it is about conscious and relational living.
206339
Love the writing.  Love the clarity of the way it really is.
4542738
I felt I really was part of the class.  Great story telling..  really like this writer's style and want more.  Thanks for a great ride.
1077804
I was given a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest review.

I have been using this book for a little over a week now, and it has reinvigorated my writing life. Every since I graduated from my MFA program three years ago, I have found myself with a writing block that I have not been able to get around. Like a wall, every time I have tried to force my way through it I have come away bruised instead. It has been the longest creative drought of my life. I've tried prompts before, but they are always too complicated or too genre-specific. I've never been able to keep my attention on them, and they have never been fruitful exercises for me in the past. This book has been different. I find myself inspired and writing some original work again.

Every day has three prompts on it: a five-minute prompt, a midday prompt, and an evening prompt. I absolutely love the one-word five minute prompts. As a writer that does poetry as well as prose, these one-word prompts have given me complete flexibility to either do poetry or prose for five minutes, as long as what I write includes that one word somewhere. The words offered are rich and always make me think. The midday and evening prompts are geared toward prose exclusively, but they aren't overly complicated and don't require tons of writing. I can write for however short or long as I want, and I can often take it in whatever direction I want without violating the terms of the prompt.

In terms of how it is organized, it's very easy to navigate and versatile enough for users who need flexibility. Flexibility is a big thing for me. For example, I find it nice that they have both the midday and evening prompts every day because I only do one of them. Having two gives me the option of choosing which one sounds more inspiring to me, and I can go back to one that I skipped if I don't like either of them that day. Another nice touch is that the days are not split into DATES--meaning rather than saying "January 1st" it says "Day 1" and so on. I find that helpful since I usually only do one on the weekend, so I'm not missing any entries when I skip a day of the week. The prompts are also split into genres like Fantasy or Mystery later on in the book for people who want to do a particular genre of prompt rather than varying the genre every day.

Over all, this is a flexible and inspiring book of prompts that has really helped me in a time when I have been experiencing a creative block. It IS geared toward prose writing, but the one-word prompts are great for poetry prompts as well if you decide to take it in that direction. Thanks to the variety of prompts to choose from, I will be using this book for multiple years and highly recommend it.
889669
I loved this book. It's helped me in my writing, whether it be brand storytelling or anecdotes in my blog. It gave me the courage to write my second book, which was much longer than the first. I accomplished that with small stories and anecdotes that focused on characters. "the protagonist is only as interesting as the antagonist" is golden!
3135840
My son use to hate writing. I tried a few of these different writing workbooks and they made the problem worse. They seem to overcomplicate it, and were way too technical for kids. Sure, my kids went through the motions, but rarely did they retain the subject matter.

Then I stumbled onto something that worked far better with my youngest...and all we had to pay for was a composition notebook at the dollar store. What I did was simply to start having him write in his journal for 10-15 minutes a day about whatever had happened that day or whatever he was thinking about. (After all, this is most likely what Da Vinci did as a child!)

For the first month or two, I didn't require him to correct any of his writing errors. That is what got the ball rolling. As he wrote about the things that mattered to him without the fear of making mistakes, writing became a lot more appealing for him.

Gradually, I began to help him with corrections to make his writing more readable, however I was and still am very careful not to ask him to change too many things at once. That discourages him. The whole point is to foster the love of writing. I want to keep his fire lit, so I just have him make 3 or 4 corrections at a time. The rest of the corrections I make for him.

Now he writes during his play all the time and his writing is improving by leaps and bounds. He even says that writing is one of his favorite subjects!

Through this experience I have come to believe that writing (under these circumstances) will emerge naturally, very much like spoken language. We don't need to dissect it and make technical lessons out of it at this age. We just need to support kids in writing about the things that matter to them. This has been the ideal way for my son to learn.

Furthermore, my son's journals have become one of the most cherished momentos we own...each one documenting our son's childhood in great detail. I can tell you one thing for certain. If my house were on fire, it would not be the writing workbooks I would make a mad dash for...it would be my son's journals!!!!

If you decide to try this method, there is one thing you should know...
When we first started this, my son often wrote about the same topics over and over again. He had a definite comfort zone. However, I felt it was critical that he be allowed to write about whatever it was he was thinking about, so I consciously chose to let that phase run its course. So my son wrote endlessly about his fascination with Navy Seals. Actually, it seemed endless. Truthfully, it only went on for a few weeks. Eventually he tired of it, and now he writes about a whole myriad of subjects....his friends, his favorite pass times, adventures that he goes on with his dad or other family members, things he wants to invent, things he would like to do, his collections, his favorite toys and games, and reviews of his favorite books. These have all come from within him...of his own choosing. And that is the goal...authenticity.

If I had a name for this method of instruction that we have more or less stumbled into, I would call it "Kids Learn to Write Da Vinci Style". I'm sure Da Vinci never picked up a writing workbook, and your child doesn't have to either.
4374991
A friend told me about this, and I wanted to read it because it had drawings and different formatting.  As a fan of ergodic literature, meaning literature that can't just be read, but requires more of a challenge for the reader, I knew this would deliver an experience I would enjoy.

The readability of the formatting was pleasant, and the metaphors made sense and were satisfying.  I found myself anxious when the characters were making discoveries, heightened by the addition of things like drawings, pictures, notes.

I'm a little confused about some things, but not to the degree that it diminished the experience.  I like the idea that the book holds some secrets that I don't know about after reading it.  Or maybe I do and I'm lead to believe there are more secrets.  Either way, I enjoyed this book thoroughly and have a feeling a re-read in a few years will also be enjoyable.

Highly recommend for someone seeking an experience that's a bit more than regular reading.
4117367
Lawrence Block makes reading about writing more enjoyable than writing and more enjoyable than reading usually is. He lays out his experience, helps the reader see and hear and feel how the writer gets the work down right. The reader comes as close to profiting by someone else's mistakes and missteps and time lost heading down blank alleys. Again and again, one feels "Well, I won't have to do that." Block speaks to the reader as if he and they are up to something together.