for writers
The way of punchier, more
engaging language & style
Greetings to fellow writers struggling
for distinction in today's witheringly competitive environment. Prepare
to soar above the huddle of predictable stylists.
Whether you're one beat from the sublime or mired in slush piles, today could be a day of levitation for you.
You are invited to rise on the updrafts of a breakthrough title from Random House Reference: SPUNK & BITE: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style, by Arthur Plotnik---that's me, your servant in the art of distinctive, stimulating, publishable writing.
To what's already on this site about the book itself, I'll be adding nuggets gathered in a career as author, editor, publishing executive, and writing columnist.
I offer fresh tips, offbeat approaches, and practical techniques you'll find nowhere but here and in my crowning work, Spunk & Bite. Also: links to the most epiphanic sites for writers and my own latest epiphanies.
Oh--and even if you're overdosed on author blogs, you may want to have a look at my "Snog,"an occasional sniff of inside-writing stuff I call, "The Lubricated Snoot." Its beauty is that you cannot add comments in the usual way---no burden of response!
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They've been saying . . .
* * * "As an agent, I’m always looking for fresh, smart, NEW material. Writing with a little edge and “spunk” is the way to go about it.
One of my favorite discussions in this book focused on the element of surprise in writing; in that surprises are necessary; that they are part of being human. Plotnik goes on further to discuss how one accomplishes this feat; with very much an effective bit of advice for any aspiring author.
... Spunk and Bite should be
required reading for anyone who claims to have aspirations of getting
published. Especially if desirous of standing out amidst the many queries agents
and editors receive."
--Dawn Frederick, literary agent, redsofaliterary.com ,
Dec. 28, 2011
* * * "Wish you could attain the unexpectedly perfect yourself? Want your writing to go places it has never gone before? Take this book for a spin. Open the yellow cover, climb in, strap on your seat belt, and put ‘er in gear."
--Marcia Riefer Johnston, Word Power, Aug. 20, 2011
***"Spunk & Bite in execution matches the book's title. It complements The Elements of Style even when in contradicion." ---Peter P. Jacobi, Editors Only, July 28, 2010
***"
. . . a kick in the pants toward bold, contemporary style. . . . the
urge to write will creep up on you at every turn of the page. . . . This
will be the best ten bucks you've ever spent." ---Jules L., Go, Go,
Gatsby, November 2009
*** "
. . . wonderful little book . . . . Read, study, and press to your
bosom . . . ." --Dave Kindred, National Sports Journalism Center, Nov.
12, 2009
***One of "10 must-have grammar and style books"---
The Writer magazine, August 2009
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EXTRA: A MODEL PROPOSAL--At the end of the "Tips & Links" page, you'll now find a complete book proposal, one that scored an excellent contract and from which you can model your own winning proposals.
I invite you to raid this site now and later, as its riches overfloweth. Or, you impulsive devil, go ahead and acquire this affordable, transformative, and rapturously reviewed guide from your favorite store, be it Amazon, B&N, or Bubba's Book & Bait Stop.
