Just Write: Booktalk 4

If you like to write – you know, the writing you do for yourself and not just required school writing – you probably know that it’s one of those “easier said than done” activities. Spilling Ink is a great book to get you inspired to write, and it’s funny and helpful, too. It’s got a bunch of “I dare you”s for your writing – to get you going or to keep you going – and it’s even got an Official Writer’s Permission Slip [show page 7]. What I liked most about Spilling Ink is how it explains the messy writing process and the importance of re-writing. Think of your favorite book of all time: did you know the author may have re-written that book up to 20 times? That’s normal, even if it does sound weird. Future novelists out there, if you like writing fiction, this book has great ideas for coming up with a plot, inventing characters, and writing dialogue. You can read part of it or all of it, depending on what advice you need. The author interviews at the end are pretty funny, too. One of the writers has slammed her head on the desk, yelled, “This is hard!” [the writing, not the desk] and then had a strawberry Twizzler to feel better. Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter.

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter. 275 p. Roaring Book Press, 2010. Booktalk to intermediate grades, middle school, high school.