A great book to dip in and out of, not one to read in one sitting if you hope to retain any of the knowledge shared.
This is a useful book if you are struggling with writer's block, or with editing your writing. The author has compiled useful advice from others in an easy to follow, straightforward way.

Holy rip the band-aid off after reading this gem. Killing off character properly and also make it impactful in order. This has some excellent tips on ways to kill off your darlings.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is split into six parts and each part has several chapters. Each chapter has a lesson to help writers. The chapter on making a writing habit, which I am planning on implementing in my day. I highly recommend this book to new writers that are looking for some help.

This was a fine how to book that coordinated teachings from other authors. It was okay, but I probably won't use it as a reference.

Although this book started off a bit slow for my taste, it's actually a great resource for an aspiring writer. Not only does the author boil down some of the best writing advice in the business, he also contextualizes that advice with easy to understand examples. I highly recommend this book as a resource for aspiring writers, especially if a writer wants to really zero in on the most important things to consider in constructing a story. An inspiring first resource for those thinking about writing a book.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book, so I really approached it with an open mind! I found it a little on the wordy side, but it still had some nuggets of wisdom I found helpful. The structure of the book - chapters, toolboxes, etc - was especially useful to me. I can see myself re-reading this one, even in just bits as i try and solidify my writing skills.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

A great homage to the classic, traditional and popular writing guides most of us know, while it is also an introduction to some other writing books that are a bit more obscure. Roy gives credit where credit is due to his writing masters. This is a terrific book on writing and one I can only recommend to everyone who wants to perfect their craft, brush up on the rules and tips, or just appreciates good writing.

Murder Your Darlings is not just another book about writing. It shares the wisdom and creative insights of fifty or so authors, some famous, some not, and some who wrote their own books about the craft.

In his own unique manner, Roy Peter Clark distills the main lessons from each writer and presents them in curated chapters. The chapters are organized into six parts: language and craft, voice and style, confidence and identity, storytelling and character, rhetoric and audience, mission and purpose.

Aspiring or struggling writers can go directly to the issue she may be facing at the moment or read the whole thing to find tips and techniques that fit her emerging efforts best.

Though this may be most useful to writers who have a particular problem in mind, I believe any writer who wants to elevate their work could find something illuminating in these pages.

At the very least, Clark saves writers days of research time into locating appropriate writing resources. If you like the brief outline he gives of a writing guide, you could go invest the time to read the whole thing.

Highly recommended for everyone who strings words together or dreams about doing so.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of this book.

I selected Murder Your Darlings to read mainly because I liked the title, and Roy Peter Clark would approve--one of the first things we learn as writers is that every choice we make is important, from the title, to the layout, to the way we use words. This book, organized as an overview of different books on writing, showcases hundreds of tips on writing book by dozens of writers. Writers and teachers of writing will recognize many of the names in this book, and I found myself wandering down memory lane to my first semester as a composition teacher when I was marinated daily in the wisdom of Don Murray and Peter Elbow.

The layout of the book is pretty straightforward: each chapter features a different writing guide and begins with a toolbox, which is an overview of the top writing tip(s) of that guide. Then, a discussion follows where Clark discusses the highlights of the guide interspersed with anecdotes from his own writing life and interesting information about the author, and finally the chapter closes with three or four lessons that sum up the main takeaway of the chapter.

This is a good reference book, especially for those who are newer to writing and want to know where they should start. However, I've been a writing teacher for over a decade, and I found myself jotting down lots of notes (I actually used one analogy on structure the next day in class; thanks John McPhee!) and putting several of these books on my Amazon wish list. It's not a book that you need to read all at once and in order, but it's a good book for anyone interested in writing to add to their shelf.

A good book packed with good books about writing. Probably best used for referencing and not strictly reading, unless you’re very into it. Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Spark for the eARC.

This has great advice on writing, written by the best writers. I like that just as there are many kinds of writers, there are many different takes on writing advice. I read it in bits, so that I could digest it. Lots of food for thought....

This book is a must read for writers or anyone interested in writing. I plan on keeping this book as a reference guide for future projects!

O usually enjoy reading books about writing but this book looks at books about writing. It was uninformative and I didn't see the need to cover this topic. Still, it may have worked if it was at all engaging, but it didn't work for me. The information and tone work Roberto make it uninteresting.

Really a wonderful book for aspiring, or professional writers, and students too. The book was organized very well and full of valuable information. I really want to get a hard copy of this book to take easier notes. . It gives a detailed, yet brief synopsis of many valuable writing books that span many years until the present. The author, Roy Peter Clark makes the book so personal and filled with his own voice.

I like that each chapter is devoted to one (or sometimes two) books on writing, and that Clark distilled them each down to only their most important points. For someone like me, who hardcore sucks at writing succinctly (whaaaa? I know…), I really jammed on the first chapter which covers On the Art of Writing by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. Quiller-Couch also originated the phrase which gave this book its name – “murder your darlings,” referring to distilling your work down to only what is needed. I found it to be the most useful bit of the book – but I think there is definitely something here for everyone.

“Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it–whole heartedly–and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.“
ON THE ART OF WRITING BY SIR ARTHUR QUILLER-COUCH

All of the books on writing you have ever likely considered reading are touched on here – and probably even a few you’re unfamiliar with. He even covers Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. This alone will likely appeal to a lot of people. Although – unpopular opinion time – I don’t like the way King writes, I don’t deny that he’s clearly doing something right. You don’t get a bazillion mega-fans or book deals or movie adaptations if you’re bad at what you do, right?

Rating:

I liked this book a lot. And like I mentioned, I’ve already gotten some good use out of it. I’ll probably buy it to add to my collection of ‘I have a bad case of imposter syndrome and need these to help me feel like I know what the hell I’m doing’ books.

A good look at books about writing

I regard this book as a sampler of writing books. Roy Peter Clark takes these writing books and adds his own take on them. It is a great way to be introduced to a variety of writers and how they work. Given Clark’s credentials and expertise, I have no doubt that these are indeed good books for writers or want-to-be writers to read. I appreciated how Clark incorporated his own experiences into the book and how he showed his good sense of humor.

I first came to know of Roy Peter Clark in graduate school @teacherscollege. In my Teaching of Writing class, we had to read Writing Tools, and apply it in our own writing & lesson planning. I remember his writing being easy to read about what can be very technical subject matter. Thus, when I saw Murder Your Darlings available on @netgalley, I knew I had to try to get it.

Murder Your Darlings is a collection of the best writing strategies from the best books, and Clark makes them easy to understand and apply. His stories and vignettes about how he came to use and learn about the strategies are clear and easy to understand. The best parts are the “lessons” he includes at the end of each strategy, which help you apply them in your own writing! This could be read straight through if you are wanting to improve your writing overall, or used as a reference guide if you’re in need of something specific, as the strategies are organized into overarching themes.

Thanks to @littlebrownspark, #roypeterclark, and @netgalley for this ARC! My review will be posted on December 21st, 2019.