In Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft, writer, editor, and publisher, Jessica Bell, guides writers through a variety of "before" and "after" writing examples demonstrating the transition from weak to strong writing, and encourages them to follow her example through clear and simple self-teaching steps. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott says a writer needs to focus on short assignments to avoid feeling overwhelmed. She refers to the one-inch picture frame on her desk and how, it reminds her to focus on bite-sized pieces of the whole story. If you focus on one small thing at a time, the story will eventually come together to create a whole. The same applies to learning how to write. If writers focus on one aspect of the craft at a time, the process will seem less daunting, and piece by piece, it will come together. Not only is Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft an excellent addition to any creative writing course, but it's also a great primary learning tool for aspiring writers, and a great booster for more experienced writers to use to hone their craft.
