Not another book about writing.

I can't help myself. I'm a sucker for any book about writing; There is a huge range of them out there to pick and choose from. There are guides to loosening one's imagination, to express hidden emotions to (please excuse the cliche) to think outside the box. I love interviews with published writers about how they approach their craft. Some painstakingly take one through the basic elements of fiction-writing, such as characterisation and dialogue. At the other end are guides with a strictly commercial head on them about how to get published and read the small print of a contract.

I have a small library of them. (That makes it sound impressive. In fact, they're scattered, dog-eared and stained all over the house: on my desk, piled on the floor by my  desk, on my bedside table, by the loo and in the kitchen in case inspiration strikes when I'm burning the soup.) Some become Bibles, the books I refer to again and again when I need a boost or get my head round a concept that once again escapes me. A few are read once and never looked at again usually because I couldn't get on with the writer or what he or she was trying to say to me. Many are good for dipping in and out of from time to time to remind myself of what I'm supposed to be doing. There's always something new to learn, a nugget of information that suddenly makes sense after years of not. Often I struggle with a particular aspect of writing that hasn't bothered me before or I want to rabbit on about a particular topic on this blog and like to check what wiser heads than mine have to say about it.

And guess what? Only yesterday, I chanced upon another. (But be warned I have to make it clear that this is not newly-published, merely a new edition with a different cover. I somehow missed the first edition that was published some time ago. Only this time I did something I've never done before. I bought it in Kindle format. I read a review in Mslexia and within minutes I'd paid for and downloaded it. (How scary is that?) I don't actually own a Kindle yet but I do use the facility to buy (or get for free) a download for my PC. It's not ideal because I can only read when I'm at my desk but I'm hoping I can transfer them all to the real McCoy in due course.

So what makes this book different from all the others?

1. The author is a brilliant writer. Kate Grenville blew me away with The Idea of Perfection and didn't disappoint with her historical novels, The Secret River and The Lieutenant.

2. It contains extracts from many Australian writers with full analyses. My knowledge of Australian writing is woefully poor and I am looking forward to being introduced to a whole new world of fiction.

3. Each chapter ends with exercises that look as if they're actually useful.

On the negative side, the chapter on publication is based on the Australian market which isn't much help to me, nor is it, as I said above, a new book. Some of it covers topics I feel I know already but, then again, she writes in such a refreshing way, it's well worth revisiting them from a new perspective. And because I'm a sucker for books about writing. Did I say that before?

So, as they say on The X Factor, it's a yes from me.

If I've whetted your appetite, you can check it out here.

Next post will be about that old chestnut: showing versus telling. And guess what? You can do both.