The Pen Commandments: A Guide for the Beginning Writer - Softcover

Frank, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1400032296 ISBN 13: 9781400032297

Publisher: Anchor, 2004

Synopsis

   Steven Frank has a new approach to writing: fun first, rules to follow, success for all. In The Pen Commandments, his offbeat and entertaining guide, he's given us a book that all writers can turn to for help and a good laugh.

   With outrageous anecdotes (how a kid's oral surgery led to the ultimate writing assignment) and irreverent advice (Thou Shalt Not Kill Thy Sentences), Frank shows how to conquer writer's block, make friends with punctuation, and live forever in words.  If you want to inspire your kids of just want to brush up on your own skills, The Pen Commandments will change—and enliven—the way you write forever.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Thou Shalt Honor Thy Reader, Thou Shalt Not Waste Words, Thou Shalt Not Kill Thy Sentences--these are three of the "pen" commandments through which, with humor and an engaging sense of purpose, Steven Frank inspires his readers not just to write but to write well.
Thou Shalt Take Pleasure in Thy Pen: As Frank watches a group of students huddle around a boy who is gleefully explaining a mysterious scar, an infallible writing topic emerges--describe the grossest thing that's ever happened to you. Thou Shalt Not Pick on the Puncts: Frank persuades a hyperkinetic teen to slow down long enough to let punctuation marks help the boy's own natural storytelling ability come through. Thou Shalt Overcome Writer's Block: With practical advice and compelling case studies, Frank unfreezes the pens of struggling writers all around him, from his mail carrier to a former student to his own mom.
Drawing on Frank's considerable experience as an English teacher, his passion for writing, and his love of language, The Pen Commandments is a witty and accessible book that entertains as it instructs.

"From the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover:

"Steven Frank is the English teacher you wish you'd had in high school. That's because he knows that education and humor make terrific team teachers. If thou wishest to become a better--and more joyful--writer, thou shalt follow The Pen Commandments."
--Richard Lederer, author of The Write Way
From the Hardcover edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: Anchor
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1400032296
• ISBN 13: 9781400032297
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336