Alan Gelb - 19 Mar

Praise for Seven Steps to Confident Writing

The blank page can strike terror in the heart of any would-be writer. Alan Gelb has the remedy: simple, practical steps that turn a daunting task into a process anyone can master.

June Casagrande, author of The Joy of Syntax and It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences

Alan Gelb offers practical direction and inspiring models to guide even the reluctant writer forward. In his book Seven Steps to Confident Writing, Gelb shows readers how to engage in the writing process and how to embrace the elements of style that will lead to writing success whether you are writing an office memo or a movie script. Writing requires enormous effort, writes Gelb, but as a master coach he guides readers toward the enormous satisfaction in bringing a piece of writing to its best state. This is an important book that I look forward to sharing with my students and others who need practical writing guidance.

Sandra Marinella, author of The Story You Need to Tell

As a writer and teacher of writing, I find Seven Steps to Confident Writing by Alan Gelb to be exceptionally helpful. I have Gelbs quotes on index cards propped around my work space. His advice is succinct and clear. Reading Alan Gelbs book charges me with renewed energy, and I find myself heading for my latest draft to polish and refine the work.

Tina Welling, author of Writing Wild

In Seven Steps to Confident Writing, Alan Gelb proves that confident writing is a skill that can be taught. He lays out practical steps and clear guidance that any writer can follow to edit and strengthen his or her writing. I look forward to using this resource with my own writing students.

Denise Jaden, author of Fast Fiction and Story Sparks

Alan Gelb demystifies good writing in a tone thats both warm and no-nonsense. What shines through is his own love of writing the fundamentals, the precision of language, the structure of sentences (including my favorite sentence from Stuart Little), the search for your true voice, and the lapidary work of rewriting. He modestly asserts that if youre looking to write a novel or memoir, this may not be the book for you, but I disagree. This is a book for anyone who wants to be a better writer no matter what your experience.

Barbara Abercrombie, author of A Year of Writing Dangerously

At the same time that writing skills are deteriorating, people in all walks of life solo entrepreneurs, managers, engineers, and millions more are obliged to communicate well. Writing is the skill needed today, and Alan Gelbs Seven Steps to Confident Writing is an essential guide for anyone who must write in order to stay competitive.

Eric Maisel, author of A Writers Paris

Also by Alan Gelb

Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps: Crafting a Winning Personal Statement

Having the Last Say: Capturing Your Legacy in One Small Story

Copyright 2019 by Alan Gelb

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gelb, Alan, author.

Title: Seven steps to confident writing / Alan Gelb.

Description: Novato, California : New World Library, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018047668 (print) | LCCN 2018060995 (ebook) | ISBN 9781608685455 (e-book) | ISBN 9781608685448 (print : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781608685455 (Ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Authorship--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Classification: LCC PN147 (ebook) | LCC PN147 .G43 2019 (print) | DDC 808.02--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018047668

First printing, March 2019

ISBN 978-1-60868-544-8

Ebook ISBN 978-1-60868-545-5

Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

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W e hear much in the media about the death of the written word and how woefully deficient todays students are in writing skills. Although there may be solid empirical evidence to back up such claims, I work year in and year out with high school students, and I dont see such a dire problem. The majority of my students possess basic writing competencies, even if they dont seem to value or enjoy the act of writing very much. For the most part, they know how to string sentences together and have some understanding of paragraph structure, but they dont seem to have ever experienced the pleasure that comes with hitting that writing sweet spot.

Within a week or two of our working together, however, I often see significant improvement in both attitude and accomplishment. My writers begin to understand that writing is not something you get right or wrong, but rather is something you work at arduously, exactingly, even achingly, but sometimes with delight. They come to see that writing lends itself to collaboration in which writer and editor both play a part, and they commit themselves to the work, which can be fun and ultimately rewarding.

In the relatively brief time that we intersect, these writers, at first indifferent to the work, start to make a case for why a certain word or phrase should be preserved, even if I suggest otherwise. As we labor in the trenches together, they assert their sense of ownership over their work and demand to be honored as writers. And, of course, I accord them that honor, thrilled to see their investment in their product.

Interestingly, among the legion of students I have coached, only about two or three stand out in my mind as having been exceptional writers whose prose possessed the kind of energy and flow that really cannot be taught. Those individuals had a love of language, a confidence in their articulation, and the ability to order their thoughts all qualities that placed them well ahead of their peers.

On the other end of the spectrum, I can still recall a few students whose writing was distinctly below par. Even the simplest of sentences could trip up these folks, who sought to disguise their tenuous grasp of sentence structure by applying all kinds of gewgaws to their writing, from inappropriate adjectives, to unnecessary adverbs, to misconceived metaphors, and of course my pet peeve: exclamation points! Those students really, just a handful out of so many made me hang my head in despair, at least for a while, not sure what I could do to help.

Head hanging aside, however, I have come to realize how much my writers have benefited from the short writing tutorial that we go through together. They learn about such things as: