How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play

Writer’s Digest Books, 2010. — 148 pages. ISBN: 1582978050Athletes practice. Musicians practice. As a writer you need to do the same. Whether you have dreams of writing a novel or a memoir or a collection of poems, or you simply want to improve your everyday writing, this innovative book will show you how to build your skills by way of practice.Through playful and purposeful exercises, you'll develop your natural aptitude for communication, strengthening your ability to come up with things to say, and your ability to get those things into the minds (and the hearts) of readers. You'll learn to:* Train and develop your writer's powers—creativity, memory, observation, imagination, curiosity, and the subconscious
* Understand the true nature of the relationship between you and your readers
* Find your writer's voice
* Get required writing projects done so you have more time for the writing you want to doEmpowering and down-to-earth, How to Be a Writer gives you the tools you need, and tells you what (and how) to practice so that you can become the writer you want to be.ContentsGetting Started
What Is Writing Practice (and How Do I Do It)?
Starting the Journey
Waking Up the Content-Mind: The Basic Practices
A Writer's Powers
Creativity
Memory and Expertise
Observation
Imagination
The Subconscious
Curiosity
The Sherlock Holmes School of Writing
Moving Toward Readers
Tools for Developing Your Material
Your Relationship with Readers
Telling Stories
Voice
A Few Words on Words
Required Writing
Do I Have to Write That?
Getting It Written
Staying on The Path
Walking the Writer's Way
A Writer's Bookshelf