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Monday 29 September 2014

Favourite Writing Craft Books - Andrea Grigg

What a gem of a book! And a big thank you to either Ellie Whyte or Catherine Hudson for putting me on to it – I know one of you did.

The Word-Loss Diet isn’t a large tome by any means (thirteen chapters over seventy-one pages) but its ideas have had a huge impact on my writing. My first drafts are always too big, but now I have the tools to reduce my word count in a pain-free manner without sacrificing the plot.

Let me give you a tiny taste.  

How many times do we use the words, started to, turned to, and could? Rayne Hall shows why they’re redundant in a concise and practical manner. The method she uses to explain is in keeping with the dietary theme – the examples are labelled ‘obese’ and ‘slim’ :)

We all want to make our writing tight and toned as well as enhance our self-editing skills don’t we? This book will show you how. And while it’s not recommended for absolute beginners, I think it makes a great mentorship tool.


I purchased my copy via Amazon. The Kindle edition is less than $4.00, the paperback version around $7.00. Whichever one you choose, The Word-Loss Diet is worth every cent.



Andrea writes contemporary romance. Her second novel Too Pretty was released in August 2014 by Rhiza Press. Her first book A Simple Mistake was a finalist in the CALEB Awards 2012

Andrea would love to hear from you via her website or Facebook page:
http://www.andreagrigg.com/
https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg

16 comments:

  1. Hi Andrea,
    I can see how a tightening tool like this could knock pages of words off a manuscript. Sounds entertaining too. Thanks for the tip.

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    1. Hi Paula - for such a small book it really does pack a punch!

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  2. Yes, that's the sort of helpful diet I like, Andrea. I can still have my chocolate while editing. A great book in anyone's language. It's a good idea to write all those dialogue tags and beats and backstory paras. Then once it's all out there to begin the paring down. I really enjoy that part.

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    1. Love how you think, Rita - both the chocolate and the paring down process comments :)

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  3. Thanks Andrea, there's loads of fantastic blog articles on writing tips - just look on Pintrest! But it's always handy to have information all in one document and this one looks really handy.

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    1. You're right, Susanne - having all the info in one concise book saves a lot of searching. I now refer to this one constantly.

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  4. Thanks for the review Andrea. Great to have some tips on reducing the flab in writing.

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    1. It's helped me so much, Jeanette. Just had to share!

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  5. Thanks, Andrea. :-) Years ago, my writing was so wordy, riddled with bland verbiage. I knew this was my weakness, and looked for a guide to help me fix it - but at the time, there was none. I reckon many writers are in the same situation that I once was. That's why I wrote this book.

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    1. Hi Rayne - thrilled to have you stop by.

      Personally, I think your book should be in every fiction writer's kit. I've also downloaded your one that demystifies Twitter - my next mountain to climb!

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  6. Thanks for sharing this resource, Andrea. Good to know it's an affordable price for something so helpful. :-)

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    1. You're welcome, Dotti. It's the most practical craft book in my collection :)

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  7. Andrea, I'm going to buy Rayne's book today because it sounds like a super-helpful resource. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the book with us :)

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    1. You won't be disappointed, Narelle. Looking forward to hearing what you think of it :)

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  8. I'm simeone else who thinks this is an excellent book, as is Rayne's Twitter book.

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    1. Well, if an editor thinks it's excellent then that's a great recommendation! And yes, I need to get stuck into the Twitter book too.

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