Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook

I haven't come across a "How to" book for kids about writing that has impressed me--till now. Spilling Ink is a chatty, informed, get-real look at writing by two children's book authors, and it doesn't waste time diagramming sentences and listing common spelling errors. Anne Mazer, author of series like Abby Hayes and Sister Magic, and Ellen Potter, author of books like Olivia Kidney and Slob, lay out what it means to be a writer and tell kids how to get the job done. This book is written in a thoroughly reader-friendly style, with the two authors taking turns giving advice in a manner reminiscent of blog posts. Hayes and Potter know their stuff, and it shows: as a writer, I was pleased to see such good ideas expressed so simply, not to mention humorously. For instance, the chapter and section titles are often entertaining: "More Crawling Lizards, Please," "Truth or Dare," "The Robo-Narrator," and "Belly Buttons" are a few of my favorites. Take a look at the book's tone in this selection from Ellen Potter: "Before I started writing seriously, I was under the delusion that 'real' writers sit down and write out the entire story in one nearly perfect, spectacularly clever draft. Oh, sure, maybe they would change a word or two, or rename one of their characters 'Nathan' because his original name, 'Jake,' reminds them too much of their cousin Jake who belches the theme music to retro TV shows. But that's about it. Wrong! Hugely, profoundly, utterly wrong." Spilling Ink offers instructive analogies, such as comparing a story's setting to a mood ring, and useful techniques, such as "the chicken-nugget circle." The authors provide short writing samples to illustrate their points here and there, which is so much more helpful than mere explanations. A writing activity at the end of each chapter is called "I Dare You," e.g., "Write a scene about a circus, but make the mood dark and grim." These activities are so spot-on that they're practically a shock--in contrast, I've seen far too many writing practice assignments in literature textbooks and school workbooks that weren't particularly relevant. Here writing concepts are explained charmingly, and, more important, clearly. The idea of letting your characters do their own thing and not over-managing them is tricky for many grown-up writers to understand, but Potter uses the idea of "Don't Be a Bully" to explain it. And Mazer tells us how she was inspired by those pre-Christmas calendar kiosks at the mall to create fun chapter headers for one of her series--illustrating how writers can transform everyday experiences into fiction. Mazer and Potter share their writing process with us; for example, showing how they brainstormed to choose the title for this book. They address problems that other books about writing don't always pinpoint, such as "Avoiding the Mad Dash," that tendency to slap on an ending that young writers--and some older ones--are prone to. Spilling Ink even covers topics like journaling and working with a writing partner. Matt Phelan's illustrations further add to the cheerful tone of the book, showing us sturdy young writers in spot art sprinkled throughout the pages. One of the book's best treats is the Appendix. Just when you think it's over, you find out that Anne and Ellen have interviewed each other in a section called "Spilling Secrets," which is full of fun biographical tidbits and a bonus slant on what it means to be a writer. I've seen a lot of boring books about how to write interesting books, which naturally struck me as ironic. But Spilling Ink takes its own advice: it's funny, specific, fascinating, and useful. I don't just recommend it to its target audience of 4th-6th graders, I recommend it to aspiring (and even published) writers who are in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and beyond.

This book helped me start a small writing club with my two children. And they both have benefited from the book and our writing together. In fact, I enjoyed those writing sessions too. The book is fun to read together and follow. The content is interesting and "I dare you" activities useful. The activities help you write based on your imagination and experience. It does not required you to have read two other books to do meaningful writing practice. The book has helpful suggestions and advice on how to go about writing. It's discussion on rewriting, characters, plot and sources of inspiration are pleasantly actionable and get you spilling ink on paper quickly. This book is not about grammar, usage or writing tools. We kept a dictionary close by when reading this book as one of my kids was too young for this level of writing but wanted to be in the club anyway!

I read this book when I was in middle school. It was one of the books in my study hall class, and I would look forward to that part of my day just so I could go read this book and parse some more tips on writing. In the years since, I still thought about and implemented what I remembered into all my writing - school essays, short stories, D&D sessions, speeches, you name it! And, over ten years later, technology has allowed me to finally get a copy for myself. Re-reading it as an adult, there are still valuable and accessible bits of advice for all genres of the written word within. Well worth the money!

Purchased this for my budding author. My 13 yr old son, loves to write stories yet is trying to figure out how to put the story together. Found this to help him gather and organize his writing. Easy to read, and informative.

I am just finishing this book (I am reading through it very slowly) and thought I would share. "Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook" by Ellen Potter and Anne Mazer. My son, age 9, (who hates to write) read it toward the end of spring and he really liked it. After he read it I bought him a little notebook to write his story ideas in and every once in a while I'll see him run and grab it, jot something down, then return to what he was doing. I love it! We are going to read it altogether this school year and then I'm going to have them writing their own stories throughout the year. Reading this book makes me want to run to the computer and start writing something! I will try to refrain from gushing over this book, but if you have a child who loves to read, has a great imagination, loves to write, or (like my children) hate to write and need that extra motivation, then you should take a look into this book. It really takes writing from something someone else does (writers who write amazing books, I could never do that though) and breaks it apart into something very doable and even fun. I know as a homeschool mom I am always looking for good teaching tools and I love it when others share their amazing finds. This book has me excited for school to start so we can start reading it and begin writing their stories!

My favorite thing about this book is that there’s zero fluff. Most creative writing books are mostly fluff. This is full of several concise dual-viewpoint lessons that are inspiring and pragmatic. I’m very grateful to have read this book. Thank you for writing it.

Great book for young writers! I am a 6th grader and I LOVED this book! This is a amazing book for ages 9 - 13 in this book they discuss how to write a book and what to do! I loved how they had letters from famous authors giving writing advice. This book is also funny! It has stories in the book! I think the writers: Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter did a amazing job! I really think you should read this book it is simply amazing!

Excellent book for young writers! It introduces children to the basics of creative writing in a light tone and with loads of humour. Highly recommended!

I bought this as a gift for my friends daughter, and she's not put it down. She's taken it to school with her and I was told this week that the parent of one of her friends wanted a copy and they'd checked the name of the book with my friend. Thank you

My son has been reading it during the summer. He said he learned some writing skills from it.

I bought this for my daughter who loves writing stories

My daughter is a little writer in the making. This book takes those elements that she can't pick up naturally and helps her to hone her talents and convey her thoughts by teaching her about technical elements and techniques. It does this through wit and humor, funny yet poignant examples, and an endearing style that lets young people connect. I heard nothing but great things and now I totally agree!