April 13, 2015
by Neelima
1 Comment

The Craft of Novel Writing by Dianne Doubtfire (Part 1)

“Knowledge has strange hiding places,” Zen Scribe said about this slender how-to book picked up from a remote book vendor. Textbooks can’t provide craftsmanship but they can provide a sense of direction. In her book The Craft of Novel Writing, … Continue reading

March 30, 2015
by Neelima
1 Comment

Review: Landour Days – A writer’s journal by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond is synonymous with childhood- I remember reading his short stories in anthologies and text books. He writes for adults and children, an effortless writer whose first book The Room on the Roof, written when he was just seventeen … Continue reading

March 26, 2015
by Neelima
6 Comments

Review: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

Now that I’ve been reading several books on writing, I’ve come to the conclusion that books on writing should either be funny, matter of fact or zen-like. Eats, Shoots & Leaves is hilarious from page one to page 204. You … Continue reading

February 2, 2015
by Neelima
1 Comment

Bird by bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (Part 2)

Your can read the part 1 here. In this post we look at the Lamott’s Instructions on Writing. To start the writing process, do short assignments. Keep writing about the past with an imaginary gun to your head. One step … Continue reading

January 29, 2015
by Neelima
6 Comments

Bird by bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (Part 1)

When a book like Bird by Bird flies into your nest, you tend to get excited, especially since everything you’ve heard about this book is so good. The book lives up to this. In the true spirit of good reviewer, … Continue reading

January 12, 2015
by Neelima
0 comments

Writing with Power: Techniques for mastering the process – Peter Elbow (Part 2)

In Part 1, we dealt with Elbow’s views on how to write using the direct method, loop writing and free writing. How do you edit then? Well, you have to be ruthless. The most important component of editing besides proofing … Continue reading

January 8, 2015
by Neelima
1 Comment

Writing with Power: Techniques for mastering the process – Peter Elbow (Part 1)

Now that Nano Wrimo is over and done with and there are plot wrimos going on in your head, a little bit of direction for future writathons would be a good thing. Writing with Power is a book on writing … Continue reading

November 20, 2014
by Neelima
2 Comments

Writing for Children and Teenagers (Revised Edition) by Lee Wyndham (Part 2)

A book is a recipe and has many components- essentials and condiments that make it yum. I won’t delve into all the essentials I found in this book but only the ideas that stand out for me and could help … Continue reading

November 17, 2014
by Neelima
3 Comments

Writing for Children and Teenagers (Revised Edition) by Lee Wyndham (Part 1)

I would call this book Writing for children and Teenagers and just about anyone. When you browse through this book as a book reviewer should, you come across the 10 commandments for writers somewhere at the end. Rings of a blog … Continue reading