100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Mentor)

By the way, at least two other reviewers said this book would be better if it was updated. Pure bunk. Good writing is good writing - it hasn't changed in 50 years and it won't change in the next 50. Wake up and smell the coffee.


Marvelous work   November 29, 1999
 14 out of 18 found this review helpful

Briefly put: Provost's 100 Ways To Improve Your Writing is meat and potatoes for novice and experienced writer alike. I didn't have it by my side when I wrote my first book, but have it now and use it often.


Good, bite-sized advice   May 30, 2006
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

Eleven sections make up this classic writers' manual. From writing a strong beginning to advice on style, grammar, punctuation and even lifestyle, Gary Provost gives us lots of help, in manageable chunks.

And he's funny. One section on appealing to the reader is called "Twelve Ways to Avoid Making Your Reader Hate You." And in the chapter on wordiness, he offers us this example:

"In preparing a list of professional people whose opinion I respect, you are one of the first that comes to mind.

It it my objective to more fully utilize my management expertise than has heretofore been the case."

Provost's 100 Ways is a clearly-written collection of classic snippets that can help you improve your writing a step at a time.


Small, short, simple, practical -What's not to like?   April 11, 2005
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Disclaimer: If you have read scores of books on writing, have an M.B.A. or degree in journalism, or if you are a published, bestselling author, this book may not be for you. However, if you are just starting out or want a compact book full of practical advice on writing better-no matter what it is you write-this book can be pure gold. I like it. Personally, I've found myself thumbing through it from time to time just to remind myself of what it means to write well. To me, it's better than a lot of other writing books because it gets strait to the lesson, without much hulubaloo. Two of my favorite tips for improving my writing are, "Vary your sentence structure" and, "Vary your sentence length." Perhaps common sense to some, but to me it was eye-opening. Until I read those short stratiegies, my writing tended to be choppy instead of flowing; pedantic instead of poetic. In short, the book improved my writing. It can do the same for yours.


Not What I Thought It Would Be   April 14, 2006
 12 out of 19 found this review helpful

Following all of the wonderful reviews here, I bought "One Hundred Ways", hoping it would contain some tools of the trade, so to speak, to improve my writing.

If you are looking to improve your grammar and sentance structure, or make your writing look more polished, this book will be great for you. I, however, was hoping for tips on how to make my dialog sound more natural (dialog being one of my weakest points in writing), or maybe how to keep the tension going in a story, just for a few examples.

If I could give this three and a half stars I would, because there are several common-sense writing "rules" listed in this book that people seem to forget. Overall, though, I wasn't as impressed with the book as I'd hoped I would be.