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Ten Short Essays on Writing Kindle Edition

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

David Bain, author of GRAY LAKE, DEATH SIGHT and several short story collections, offers ten essays on writing, with an eye toward helping new writers gain their footing and keeping the more seasoned scribe motivated. It also includes his essay "Basic E-Book Self-Publishing Advice for Newbies" which has already helped hundreds of beginning indie authors.

A longtime college English prof and former newspaper bureau chief, Bain infuses these essays on the writing life with years of teaching, editing, and indie publishing experience, using an easygoing yet incisive style.

Also included are insights into Bain's own work, background into his fictional characters and settings, and two interviews with fellow authors working in the dark fantasy genre.

The table of contents include:

Introduction by David Bain

ESSAYS ON WRITING
Time and the Non Full-Time Writer
The One Surefire Way to Beat Writer's Block
Basic E-Book Self-Publishing Advice for Newbies
On Revision: Love, Hate, and Saying "Good Enough"
The Writing Life Begins at 44
Writing: Art, Business & Jimi
When "Real Life" Encroaches on Writing Time
Your Assignment: To Be Truly Alive
On Genre, Music and Limitations
Don’t Worry about Word Count – “The Bathroom Break Method”

ESSAYS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT MY OWN WORK
Why I Give So Many Stories Away for Free
Morbo the Clown Comes to Town: Audience vs. Art
How the Will Castleton Stories Got Started...

INTERVIEWS
Interview with C. Dennis Moore: "On Reviewing"
Interview with Michael K. Rose

From the introduction:

A few caveats on this little book. It is exactly what the title says: Ten Short Essays on Writing.
Well, actually, there are a few extras – a couple essays about my own work and a couple interviews with writer friends who you should check out.
The caveats:
1. It’s a short book, about 11,000 words. The print version is just over 130 pages.
2. In the course of talking about writing, I sometimes discuss my own work and provide links to places you can buy it. It’s what midlist writers do – call that caveat #2.5: I haven’t written dozens of bestsellers, but I have several novels under my belt under my own name and others and have had more than 100 stories and poems accepted by editors in the professional world, despite the fact that I mostly self-publish these days. I’ve also taught writing at the college level for … well, let’s just say for significantly more than a decade…
3. These essays used to appear for free on my blog if you want to dig around for them, but people seem happy enough to pay the nominal fee to have my humble advice collected in an easily digestible volume.
4. No book on writing can truly change your writing life. Butt in chair in front of keyboard is the only way to change your writing life. Books like this can, however, inspire you, point you in a direction, give you a boost on the days you don’t want to write. And that’s all I’m really hoping to do with this little collection. There are many, many days when I don’t wanna, don’t think I can, don’t have the time, and I need to read (or write) something like the first essay to kick myself into gear…

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DZC870K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ A/A Productions (July 15, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 15, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 42 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

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David Bain
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David Bain is the author of Gray Lake, Death Sight and other supernatural thrillers. His shorter work has appeared in many publications, including Weird Tales and Strange Horizons, and in several anthologies alongside authors like Ray Bradbury, Joe R. Lansdale, Ramsey Campbell, Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene, Jonathan Janz and many others, with honorable mentions in The Year's Best Horror and Fantasy.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
7 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2013
    "I just got this today. Been tweeting with the author. The second essay "Basic E-Book Self-Publishing Advice for Newbies" has links to self publishing sites. I trust this writer. He taught writing, worked in journalism, does all his own self publishing, works Social Network Marketing like a champ. I'm just a few pages into his second essay and had to write to you to say "Get this book" it's only 99 cents and the links in the first essay makes it worth the effort."

    That's what I wrote my lady friend who wants to be a writer as a second career.

    What I found outstanding in the first essay of "The One Surefire Way to Beat Writer's Block" is the exercise of "freewriting" or what I've been calling "clear your head". To write without worrying about grammar, punctuation, or even making sense in a story telling sort of way. Get the words on the page without self censor.

    This is the first review I've done of a Kindle book before I've finished reading it but from what I've seen in the first two essays I say "You got to get this book" if you're interested in becoming a writer.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2013
    Bain offers practical, no-nonsense advice on the art and craft of writing. A fast, fun, and insightful read. Good advice for beginners and novices alike.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2015
    I like books like this, to help you in life and writing!

Top reviews from other countries

  • Highlight
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good book with a lot of logical ideas & theories of writing that blockbuster.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2015
    A Short Way To Enlighten

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