Writer's Digest Handbook of Short Story Writing (Writer's Digest Handbook of Short Story Writing)

Rating:
Summary: This is actually Volume II in the two-part series
Review: 1) Very similar to my comments on Volume 1 = totally for novices and those brand spanking new to reading articles on the craft of writing

2) I found 8 of the 33 articles to be VERY well done and useful as future references/checklists as I do my writing

3) Overall I liked the quality of the articles in Vol II more so than Vol I

4) A lot of the information in these articles/advice will cirulcate back through your subscription to Writer's Digest Magazine. Meaning you can get a subscription or get this book at the library, ebay, or used book store.

Rating:
Summary: empathy and advice
Review: I was seventeen.
I found the book on my grandmother's shelf. And I couldn't put it down.
In retrospect, it was probably no better than other books on writing, but it dealt with things I was interested in -- are writers born or made, transitions, revisions, the importance of reading (actually, everybody's got their own opinion on that), characterization and viewpoint. Now, it's not that I hadn't already heard or known some of this stuff, but it was just what I needed. Authors opinions and struggles, sympathy and even occasional rants. The thing was, although I was less experienced, I knew a lot of the same things in my bones, and it was good to have them confirmed.
Another thing was that sometimes the authors disagreed! This is good to know, because when you read a book by one author, if he says something that just doesn't work for you, you think there's something wrong with you. But when you see equally sucessful authors disagreeing over things (outlines, no outlines), it can be rather freeing. Keep in mind that it was written in the 80s so it isn't going to be market help to you. But the advice is still pretty fresh, for the most part.
In short, I recommend this as a good read, interesting, informative, and fun (if you're seventeen, and you find it at your grandmother's, and you can't put it down...)
She gave me that book, before I left. I still have it.
Trust me, it's worth a lot more than 48 cents.

Rating:
Summary: Ok for true beginners to the craft...
Review: If you are totally new to writing and have never read more than 10 articles on the craft of writing before...then this is for you.

For someone more read on the subject I only found 7 of the 42 articles worthy to keep as references/checklists to use as I'm actually doing my writing.

Try and get this book at the library or a used bookstore or ebay. Don't pay full price. Everyone will get something different from it, maybe you will get more out of it than I did.