9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Could Be Useful, BUT....., 13 Oct 2005
By Tara Tainton "Author & Advocate of Sexual Equ... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: How to Write About Yourself (Writers' Guides) (Paperback)
If you have never considered writing before, have never realized that daily life is the same source of material all writers refer to, or grade school never covered grammar or spelling, you could find this book useful. Truly, it is designed for the beginning amateur, or maybe the Alison & Busby Writers' Guides series is designed solely for profiting on unsuspecting readers.
If you don't know a thing about the writing business or how to begin gathering information for a potential story, you might find this book useful, but there are HUNDREDS of better references for your same beginning needs...and in a more readable, enjoyable presentation as well. THis book reads like a textbook, furthering the stereotype of the pretentious British voice.
I can deal with a book offering only basic information I consider to be common sense or even a boring one, but also being terribly out of date just isn't acceptable in this technological age. The authors even tell you what size notebook to choose, discouraging you from keeping your notes on birthday cards and purchase receipts, and mention using a word processor (a computer is mentioned only once) as difficult because it doesn't offer the ability to look at physical copies of your words for consideration. Isn't that why printers were designed?
The book briefly mentions the concept of desktop-publishing, merely as a means for self-publishing, and explains it as "high-class photocopying." Need I mention more??
If you're looking for a valuable guide on taking your life experiences and forming them into marketable creative articles, I recommend Writing from the Heart by Marjorie Holmes. Good luck in your future writing endeavors!