True Stories: Guides for Writing from Your Life

We all have stories to tell about our lives and the lives of people we know. Rebecca Rule and Susan Wheeler help new and experienced writers commit those stories to paper. With a warm, wise, and encouraging voice, they describe the writing process, from the inkling of a subject, to drafts, to specific writing skills, to a final product. Each skill is practical, shown briefly, clearly, with outstanding examples from published as well as student writing to illustrate each point. The book covers critical topics such as:

• writing not to rehash, but to discover
• finding a subject and narrowing it
• writing scenes and dialogue
• developing conflict
• stressing important moments and points
• using outstanding details and facts, time summaries and stretches, flashbacks, endings, and more
• ways to find meaning and add depth
• revising and editing
• curing writer's block
• giving and receiving constructive criticism.

As practical as Strunk and White's Elements of Style, but far more warm, detailed, and encouraging, True Stories gives writers everything they need to find their stories and craft them with insight and meaning.