Robert's Rules of Writing, Second Edition: 111 Unconventional Lessons That Every Writer Needs to Know

by Robert Masello

Overview

Bestselling author Robert Masello guides working and aspiring writers alike with the hard-won advice, tricks of the trade, and indispensable encouragement that only a seasoned professional can provide.

Although there’s no shortage of books on writing and publishing, there’s none quite like Robert’s Rules of Writing: 111 Unconventional Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know. Drawing on his many years of experience as an award-winning journalist, TV writer, and the author of over twenty books published by mainstream houses and translated, to date, into nineteen languages, Robert Masello addresses all the issues that confront, and all the problems that beset, writers of all stripes.

Whether you’re working on a novel or a script, a memoir or a blog, an epic poem or a newspaper piece, you’re going to have to find the best way to express yourself clearly, persuasively, and entertainingly. You’ll have to find your own personal voice (much harder than it sounds) and use that unique voice to convey your story, your thoughts, and your opinions, to the many readers out there that you’re eager to reach; with complete candor and welcome irreverence, Robert’s Rules of Writing offers the inside knowledge that will help you do just that. As provocative as they are amusing, these rules are purposely designed to challenge the old axioms and get you thinking afresh about your work.

In well over a hundred short but pithy takes, Masello guides you over hurdles, around obstacles, and through the seemingly insurmountable barriers to completion and ultimately publication—hooray!—of your writing. It’s a lively, thought-provoking, and often downright funny addition to any veteran, or fledgling, writer’s shelf.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621537830
Publisher:	Allworth
Publication date:	09/21/2021
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

ROBERT MASELLO is a prolific journalist, whose work has regularly appeared in prominent publications ranging from the Washington Post to New York Magazine. His novels of historical suspense and nonfiction books on such varied topics as the television business and the art of romance have appeared on several national bestseller lists. He has also lectured on writing and literature from Claremont McKenna College to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. A longstanding member of the Writers Guild of America, he lives and works in Santa Monica, California.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Rule 1 Burn Your Journal 1

Rule 2 Get a Pen Pal 5

Rule 3 Throw Out Your Thesaurus 51

Rule 4 Zip the Up 7

Rule 5 Call Out the Thought Police 9

Rule 6 Don't Overinflate the Balloon 11

Rule 7 Skip the Starbucks 13

Rule 8 Take the Zoloft 15

Rule 9 Lose the Muse 17

Rule 10 Get Rolling 19

Rule 11 Let the Well Refill 21

Rule 12 Tell, Don't Show 23

Rule 13 Play God 25

Rule 14 Stop Reading 27

Rule 15 Don't Get Trendy 29

Rule 16 Write What You Read 31

Rule 17 Make 'Em Worry 33

Rule 18 Memo Yourself 35

Rule 19 Take Liberties 37

Rule 20 Know the Territory 39

Rule 21 Settle Down 41

Rule 22 Pick Your Poison 43

Rule 23 Shut Out the Noise 45

Rule 24 Map That Route 47

Rule 25 Wing It 49

Rule 26 Don't Look Back 51

Rule 27 Let It Marinate 53

Rule 28 Overcome Your Separation Anxiety 55

Rule 29 Cad "Action!" 57

Rule 30 Pile It On 59

Rule 31 Reduce Clutter 61

Rule 32 Offer an Appetizer 63

Rule 33 Don't Tense Up 65

Rule 34 Plant Now, Harvest Later 67

Rule 35 Say What? 69

Rule 36 Show What You Know 71

Rule 37 Make 'Em Care 73

Rule 38 Flaw Your Hero 75

Rule 39 Perfect Your Villain 77

Rule 40 Skip the Truth 79

Rule 41 Strip Down to Your Briefs 81

Rule 42 Go Subliminal 83

Rule 43 Cook Up a Story 85

Rule 44 Let Them Lead the Way. 87

Rule 45 Make an Entrance 89

Rule 46 Do Double Duty 91

Rule 47 Be a Tease 93

Rule 48 Keep the Faith 95

Rule 49 Fly Solo 97

Rule 50 Go for Broke 99

Rule 51 Lay Down the Law 101

Rule 52 Keep Your Promises 103

Rule 53 Sweat the Small Stuff 105

Rule 54 Hit Your Marks 107

Rule 55 Don't Push Your Luck 109

Rule 56 Take a Walk around the Block 111

Rule 57 Lose Your Form 113

Rule 58 Set an Alarm Clock 115

Rule 59 Fall in Love 117

Rule 80 Get Rejected 119

Rule 61 Indulge the Fantasy 121

Rule 62 Keep Your Day Job 123

Rule 63 Pick a Personage 125

Rule 84 Ham It Up 127

Rule 65 Know No Shame 129

Rule 66 Pass the Scuttlebutt 131

Rule 67 Come to Your Senses 133

Rule 68 Turn Up the Heat 135

Rule 69 Go Inside 137

Rule 70 De-claim! De-claim! 139

Rule 71 Take the Long Way 141

Rule 72 Show No Mercy 143

Rule 73 Doubt Everyone 145

Rule 74 Find Your Idea! 147

Rule 75 Kill the Passion 149

Rule 76 Grumble and Fuss 151

Rule 77 Engage the Enemy 153

Rule 78 Mix It Up 155

Rule 79 Graph It 157

Rule 80 Join Up 159

Rule 81 Stake Your Claim 161

Rule 82 Get in Style 163

Rule 83 Change Your Spots 165

Rule 84 Tone It Up 167

Rule 85 Make 'Em Laugh! 169

Rule 86 Befriend Your Editor 171

Rule 87 Choose Your Words. 173

Rule 88 Choose Their Words, Too 175

Rule 89 Beware of Easy Inspiration 177

Rule 90 Add a Dash of Metaphor 179

Rule 91 Rid Yourself of Writing Words 181

Rule 92 Convert Yourself 183

Rule 93 Punctuate That Thought 185

Rule 94 Build the Perfect Reader 187

Rule 95 Don't Believe Everything You Read! 189

Rule 96 Pass the Scalpel 191

Rule 97 Gather Ye Moonbeams! 193

Rule 98 Lose Your Perspective 195

Rule 99 Take Up Whittling 197

Rule 100 Save Every Scrap 199

Rule 101 False Advertising 201

Rule 102 Keep Your Prose Clean 203

Rule 103 Don a Disguise 205

Rule 104 Protect Your Inspiration 207

Rule 105 Magnetize Yourself 209

Rule 106 Spill Your Secrets 211

Rule 107 Hit the Snooze Alarm 213

Rule 108 Call It Quits 215

Rule 109 Grant Yourself a Title 217

Rule 110 Love Words 219

Rule 111 Break the Rules 221

About the Author 223