Official Review: How to Write Smarter by Darlene Franklin

[Gabriel Merêncio]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "How to Write Smarter" by Darlene Franklin.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Darlene Franklin’s How to Write Smarter is a guide for writers who want to take their writing to a professional level and make a living with it. The author is a seasoned writer with years of experience publishing books and magazine articles, having over fifty unique titles under her belt. In this work, she distills all of her knowledge into simple steps anyone can follow.

The book is divided into thirty lessons and five units: basic skills, nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and writing project. Each unit tackles a specific area of writing to make the reader a well-rounded writer who can then choose their specialty. The lessons come with quizzes to consolidate your knowledge and assignments to polish your skills.

Though the book is general enough to apply to most writers, the author also provides specific advice for the Christian market since she has expertise in it. Those interested in this niche should find it very helpful, but those who aren’t can safely skip these sections. Overall, the book is suitable for people of any religious affiliation.

I enjoyed the author’s practical approach that focuses on deliberate practice on top of theoretical explanations. While one can read the book in a few days, those seriously interested in becoming better writers should devote at least a few weeks to it, completing the exercises along the way. By the end of the experience, you’ll end up with not only advanced skills but also some marketable work to publish.

Everything comes together in the final unit of the guide, where the reader is tasked to write a piece of nonfiction, fiction or poetry that can be published. This is a unique aspect that makes the title stand out among writing guides. The only minor downside is that the book has the reader write something before looking for a market, which could be seen as backward for some, especially beginners.

That said, the book needs another round of editing. There over ten instances of missing punctuation, misspelled words, and subject-verb disagreement. While the errors aren’t particularly egregious, they’re not something you’d like to see in a resource for writers. Moreover, there are x’s instead of page numbers whenever the book references its own pages ("Explanations on how to write an essay appear on page xxx").

Despite the lackluster editing, How to Write Smarter is a great book for writers, especially beginners. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars and recommend it to anyone who has an interest in becoming a professional writer. Even veterans could extract plenty lot of value out of this. Since the assignments take a significant amount of time and effort, I don’t recommend the book if you’re looking for a casual read. There are no profanities whatsoever, so the book can be enjoyed by everyone.

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How to Write Smarter
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[Kanda_theGreat]

Wow, I think there's much to borrow regarding poetry and writing project.
Thank you for the review.

[Marsnikk]

I’ll be downlading this one. I like the idea of practical application of the skills learned. Thank you!

[J_odoyo]

This sounds like a great read for writers. Despite the highlighted flaws of this book, I still think it's worth reading. Thanks for this insightful review.

[Gabriel Merêncio]

I’ll be downlading this one. I like the idea of practical application of the skills learned. Thank you!

This sounds like a great read for writers. Despite the highlighted flaws of this book, I still think it's worth reading. Thanks for this insightful review.

Wow, I think there's much to borrow regarding poetry and writing project.
Thank you for the review.

It's a pretty book for beginners and veterans alike. Thanks for the comments!

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

This sounds like a great resource for every aspiring writer! I like how it is comprised of several sections so readers are able to hone each lesson before moving on. Thanks for the engaging review!

[nicole-adrianne]

I'd certainly love to check this out! I appreciate your warnings on the bad editing, though - not at all something I'd expect from a book on how to improve writing skills.

[kandscreeley]

A book about how to write should be extremely well-edited. Too bad this isn't. Still, I've always wanted to write. If I decide to really pursue that, I'll absolutely pick this up. Thanks.

[kdstrack]

What a practical book for writers! The exercises, the resources, and the author's experience are a huge benefit. I like this book - except for the errors and the page numbers! Who wouldn't like to write smarter? Thanks for this recommendation.

[Prisallen]

This sounds like a nice book for aspiring writers to read in order to improve their skills. I agree, though, that it should have been edited better. In spite of that, I would still like to take a look at it. Thanks for the great review!

[Gabriel Merêncio]

I'd certainly love to check this out! I appreciate your warnings on the bad editing, though - not at all something I'd expect from a book on how to improve writing skills.

A book about how to write should be extremely well-edited. Too bad this isn't. Still, I've always wanted to write. If I decide to really pursue that, I'll absolutely pick this up. Thanks.

What a practical book for writers! The exercises, the resources, and the author's experience are a huge benefit. I like this book - except for the errors and the page numbers! Who wouldn't like to write smarter? Thanks for this recommendation.

This sounds like a nice book for aspiring writers to read in order to improve their skills. I agree, though, that it should have been edited better. In spite of that, I would still like to take a look at it. Thanks for the great review!

This sounds like a great resource for every aspiring writer! I like how it is comprised of several sections so readers are able to hone each lesson before moving on. Thanks for the engaging review!

Yes, I do hope the author fixes the errors as soon as possible, since it's an otherwise great book. Thanks for the comments!

[Frannie Annie]

This is going on my future book shelf. I would like to make some money with my writing at some point and this sounds like a great reference.

[Cecilia_L]

A book about how to write should be extremely well-edited. Too bad this isn't. Still, I've always wanted to write. If I decide to really pursue that, I'll absolutely pick this up. Thanks.

I agree and was going to say the same thing about the editing.

[Erin Dydek]

I’m not particularly interested in writing a book but it could be a nice New Years resolution/goal type of book for writers. The exercises sound helpful despite the need for further editing. Thanks for another great review!

[Gabriel Merêncio]

A book about how to write should be extremely well-edited. Too bad this isn't. Still, I've always wanted to write. If I decide to really pursue that, I'll absolutely pick this up. Thanks.

I agree and was going to say the same thing about the editing.

I’m not particularly interested in writing a book but it could be a nice New Years resolution/goal type of book for writers. The exercises sound helpful despite the need for further editing. Thanks for another great review!

This is going on my future book shelf. I would like to make some money with my writing at some point and this sounds like a great reference.

It does make for an excellent book for New Years if your goal is to become a professional writer. Thanks for the comments!