Joni B. Cole - Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier. Revised and Expanded Edition.

Who says books about writing have to be dull, dry, and pretentious? Author and creative writing instructor Joni B. Cole is here to put the fun back in fundamentals. In Good Naked, she is part teacher, part cheerleader, and part laugh-out-loud humorist. Whats not to love?

The Writer

Wherever youre at in your writing life or process, Joni B. Cole is the lively, trenchant, pragmatic, affirming coach/teacher/therapist/friend/fellow writer you want in your corner. Her combination of craft wisdom, life experience, and insight into our habits of mind puts Good Naked in rare company as far as writing books go. Get ready to dog-ear with abandon, as it wont sit dormant on your shelf for long.

Tim Horvath, author of Understories and instructor at Catapult, GrubStreet, and StoryStudio Chicago

There arent a lot of writing books that feel like a conversation with a witty friend over a cup of espresso and a delicious homemade muffin at your favorite caf, but this is one of them. This book reinforces my belief that writing brings out the best self, the one that wont look away from hard truth and necessary stories.

Mom Egg Review

Joyful, tough-minded, and heartening, these pages offer encouragement to everyone from beginners to experienced writers. One of the best books for writers Ive read in a very long time.

Cynthia Huntington, Frederick Sessions Beebe 35 Professor in the Art of Writing, Dartmouth College, and National Book Award finalist for poetry

Brilliant, instructive, and witty an essential read for everyone who wants to write or keep writing.

Gina Barreca, author of ten books and the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Connecticut

With a down-to-earth humor thats a joy to read, Joni Cole dissects writers block and offers some streetwise advice to writers and creative-writing instructors on how to work through it and learn to love the process of writing.

Linda Landrigan, editor of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Joni B. Coles essential, witty guide invites readers to shed their fears and embrace the joy of writing. Her practical tips remind us that effective writing is a craft to be practiced and mastered, not an elusive gift of birth. This second edition sparkles with new gemsamong them, the trap of comparing ourselves to others, managing rejection, and making the most of the acknowledgments page. Both laugh-out-loud funny and brilliant, this primer belongs on every writers desk.

Marjorie Nelson Matthews, author of Hawaii Calls

Writers are good at convincing themselves that cleaning bathroom grout is more urgent than penning a few lines. Thankfully, Joni Cole wrote Good Naked. Her candor shows she knows exactly what goes on inside our heads. Yet her compassion reassures us we can write again and better. Best of all, she offers fool-proof instructions on how to restart, face a blank page, or make edits. Now, when I want to avoid writing, I first reach for Jonis book.

Stacy S. Kim, writer, researcher, coach, and teacher

I adore this book. As a managing editor, I often received books from authors and publishers hoping for a review. I read most of them, or tried anyway. Good Naked landed on my deskokay sure, bare your soul, write better, be happier. I sighed, whatever, and took it home to read. I was hooked at Cheerleader for Mediocrity. I thought, this is brilliant. Every writing attempt doesnt have to be Pulitzer winning or nothing. With this book, Joni gives all writers, aspiring and seasoned, a place to start.

Judy Thurlow, former managing editor of Vermont Life

JONI B. COLE

HOW TO WRITE MORE, WRITE BETTER, AND BE HAPPIER

Revised and Expanded Edition

University of New Mexico Press | Albuquerque

2017, 2022 by Joni B. Cole

All rights reserved. Published 2022

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-0-8263-6436-4 (paper)

ISBN 978-0-8263-6437-1 (electronic)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022935070

Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New MexicoPueblo, Navajo, and Apachesince time immemorial have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We gratefully recognize our history.

The chapter Last Typo Standing: An Open Letter to the One That Got Away was originally published in The Writer magazine, April 23, 2020

Cartoons by Helmut Baer

Cover illustration by Mindy Basinger Hill

Designed by Mindy Basinger Hill

Composed in 10.65 / 14.5 pt Garamond Premier Pro and Mr Eaves Mod OT Book

TO ESME, who makes the world better by being Esme

TO THEA, my role model for following your heart

Gold Stars

In my minds eye, I can see my nine-year-old self, staring down at my school desk, my chubby cheeks curtained by two planks of brown hair. One, two, three. One, two, three. This little girlmehas a habit of counting whenever she feels anxious, and right now she is more anxious than usual. Her teacher, Mrs. Zimmerman, is about to hand back their homework, a creative writing assignment. The class had been learning how to write five-paragraph essaysintroduction, three supporting paragraphs, a conclusionbut this was the first assignment where the students were told to write a made-up story about anything at all!

One, two, three. One, two, three. The little girl wiggles her foot in nervous anticipation. She is in the purple reading group, which everyone knows is for the fast readers. She gets mostly As on her spelling tests. She is bad at math, but who cares about math. One, two, three. One, two, three. What if her story is stupid? What if it isnt like everyone elses? Maybe she should have used bigger words.

The teachers heels click on the floor, barely pausing beside her desk. Mrs. Zimmerman sets the handwritten pages of the girls short story face down and keeps on walking. One, two, three. One, two, three. The little girl takes a deep breath and flips over the papers.

A gold star! A gold star is pasted at the top!

It seems odd, how reliving that memory can so easily brings back those feelings of anxiety and elation, while many of the details of the short story itself elude me. I know the gist of the plot had to do with a fourth grader (basically me, only a genius) whose father is a rocket scientist. She goes to visit her dad at his job and somehow finds herself alone in a spaceship that suddenly launches into outer space! Given such a dramatic twist of events, you would think I would remember what happened nextWhat did my young heroine do? How did she save herself?but all I can recall is that she pushed a lot of buttons and everything turned out fine.