Learning to Write the Easy Way

Learning to Write the Easy Way: For Fun, Posterity, and Money
Dorothy Ann Skarles
Twilight Times Books
Non-Fiction, Writing
Reviewed by Frederick Noronha

If you ever doubted you had a book just waiting to burst forth from you, take a look here. Author Dorothy Ann Skarles argues that "the memory of living words, and special occasions within ourselves eagerly wait throughout the years to be mentioned, noticed, picked up, and written down for future generations to light upon".
From the title, you would notice that this is an 'all-things-for-all-(wo)men' book. It promises to set you on the path to writing -- whether your goal is fun, recording
something for posterity, or even just money.
Penned in three sections (and four appendices), this fairly e-slim but well packed-with-information text, introduces you to some fundamentals. It takes the reader to the 'writer's
art', gives tips on how to get ideas and develop them, and offers pointers on submissions and marketing.
Skarles would have us believe that anyone "could write a book". She makes her point convincingly. But sometimes it comes across as hard sell.
For instance: "Writing about family backgrounds can be profitable. According to the Authors' Guild, a successful non-fiction book sells seventy-five thousand copies, compared to a successful fiction book that might sell five thousand copies." Obviously, this 'fact' cannot be taken to mean that any or many family backgrounds could easily get translated into a "successful non-fiction book".
But then, this book contains tonnes of details, and a great many ideas. Getting started and how to jump-in and test the water are useful chapters. Transitions -- the words or phrases that start out a paragraph -- is the subject of an entire, useful chapter.
She tells your how to use dialogue and the "five senses" in making your non-fiction stronger. One chapter advices on how to use fiction techniques for non-fiction -- plot, conflict, drama and suspense.
Some sections are based on commonsense -- reading is a great teacher, obviously. But this book argues its case logically.
At the end of the text, the appendices offer a listing of books for writers, some 'slants' you could introduce into your autobiography, and a list of writers' organizations.