“If you feel left behind, this book invites you to imagine the act of writing less as a special talent and more as a purposeful craft,” writes Roy Peter Clark in the introduction of the tenth anniversary edition of Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. “Think of writing as carpentry, and consider this book your toolbox.” Gleaned from a career as a journalist and teacher, Clark writes fifty-five short essays on ways to confront writing and its challenges, accompanying them with examples from the work of over two hundred writers, including Albert Camus, Diane Ackerman, and Amy Tan. With chapter titles such as “Fear not the long sentence,” “Give key words their space,” and “Break long projects into parts,” Clark offers practical advice to help writers reach fluency in their craft.
