Book Report 4: The Writer's Workout Book

The author of this book, Art Peterson, participated in the Bay Area Writing Project. This alone made me want to read more. And I love what I’ve found. It has what I'm looking for in teaching books these days--lots of practical ideas to apply to mini lessons. The lessons incorporate basic writing skills and techniques with development of the students'voice.

The book is divided into seven parts. The chapters are Writers Speak Up, Writers Pay Attention, Writers Think First, Writers Consider Other People, Writers Create Choices, Writers Love Words, and Writers Keep Trying.

Something I've been looking for the past couple of years is a set of exercises to help students pay close attention to detail. As we all know, their writing is often a laundry list without any focus. So, the chapter I found most interesting is Writers Pay Attention. This section encourages the students to look for mental snapshots in daily life, write from memory about familiar objects, and even try eavesdropping for thought provoking dialogue. I look forward to putting these and other ideas to work with my students.

Kelley Edwards

July 2002