Monday, April 30, 2012
My Review of WRITING YOUR WAY by Don Fry
Photo Credit: Writer's Digest
Writing instructor Don Fry believes that writers struggle with efficient productivity because they use someone else’s writing process instead of one that is perfectly suited to them. This is because they only know how to write the way they were taught. The process they’re taught may work for some writers, but for others something more reflective of their own personality, skills, and natural talents may be much more effective. WRITING YOUR WAY is a new book by Don Fry designed to walk writers through developing their own personal writing style and writing voice. The key is to develop a process that works for you.
One of the most helpful parts of the book comes early on as Fry walks writers through the five steps of the creative process for any piece of writing. The five steps are
1. IDEA – What is your article or story about?
2. GATHER – What source material will you need to develop the idea?
3. ORGANIZE – How will you structure the article or story?
4. DRAFT – The initial writing of the piece without any editing along the way.
5. REVISE – The revision of the initial draft.
I loved this breakdown of the creative process because it was so clear and immediately helpful. As Fry unpacks these steps one per chapter, he also unpacks various ways to tackle each of the steps so that writers can discover what specifically works best for them in each step.
I found the interviewing tips in the GATHER chapter to be very helpful, as well as the various people Fry encourages writers to have in their lives to be ready sources for the things they write. I also appreciate the encouragement to just write and worry about revision after the initial draft is complete. Editing as I write is one of the things that slow me down the most when I’m writing, so this was something I can immediately put into practice.
Fry finishes up the book by discussing ways for a writer to develop their own voice. There are some very helpful ideas about a writer’s different personas used in their writing.
WRITING YOUR WAY is a great book because it focuses on helping writers to become more productive and more in tune with their own creative process. Writers will likely want to read with a pen in hand to latch on to the most important ideas for their own unique process.
I received this book for free for review from Writer’s Digest Books, and the opinions expressed in this review are completely my own
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