As a writer I am continually working on improving my craft. There are a number of ways in addition to the old adage of butt in chair. Taking classes, attending conferences, sharing critiques as well as reading books on craft, to name a few.
Some books are more helpful than others for me and I've just received one that I love: Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing Revising & Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults, written by editor, Cheryl Klein of Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic. (Cheryl was the continuity editor for the Harry Potter series as well as editor of several award-winning books such as Marcello in the Real World and Elizabeth Bunce's Curse Dark as Gold) Second Sight is written in a straight-forward manner, much as if Cheryl is sitting across the desk from you having a conversation.
The examples are clear and easy to understand, there are charming quotes by Sherlock Holmes laced throughout that are surprisingly appropriate and best of all: It makes sense. It puts the reader in an editor's shoes and lets us view the manuscript from their perspective - which is incredibly helpful.
A chapter I'm finding particularly useful is one entitled: The Art of Detection: One Editor's Techniques for Analyzing and Revising Your Novel. The chapter includes a Plot Checklist and exercises identified with the easy-to-remember acronym of TRUCK: Techniques for Revising Used by Cheryl Klein.
If you're looking for a book on craft to take your writing to the next level, I would definitely take the time to read Cheryl's book.
What books on craft have you found to be most helpful?
~Kiki
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