A Short Course In Creative Writing

A compilation of lessons

By: Ruby Allure

Narrated by: Erin B. Lillis

Length: 1 hr and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A Short Course In Creative Writing encompasses all the aspects that need to be considered when writing a creative writing piece. The lessons were originally written for regular evening classes; however, even though the students had hand-outs, they requested a digital book to reference with everything that they were taught.

©2015 Ruby Allure (P)2015 Ruby Allure

great tool for writing assistance

A great took for authors new and seasoned. Very informative and a stellar narration from Erin Lillis!

Short & Sweet Writing Course

Any additional comments?

While the book was short at 2 hours, it took me much longer to get through it. It is packed full of lessons and idea prompts to make you think. Everything is covered from making a mind map to get your ideas down, should you use 1st or 3rd person and the differences between them, to which POV to use.

The ideas here are very practical and give you ideas on how to tame the mass of ideas floating around in your head(I'm guilty of this) and bringing one down to Earth to start your story.

She covers uses the senses, and even trying to think from some one else perspective, like a friend, or someone you know. Good exercises to help you find your characters voice.

There are so many tips to help you get going if you don't know where to start. And enough practical advice for those that do but still need a bit of guidance. I have many books on writing, but having this in audio format is almost like having a teacher right there with you. It leaves your hands free to write and explore the ideas put down to make you think, and to help get your story down on paper. I myself will be using it to help with my own writing.

*I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com".

Good short course

This book confirmed what I was already doing was on point. However, there were also useful exercises and tips that helped me develop the story and characters better.

The narration is great. Told as someone who knows the content, not robotic or monotone like when someone reads a book out loud but isn’t familiar with it.

I was easy for me to follow and absorb. Never desired to scrub forward. So much good content didn’t want to miss anything.

My only criticism is the TOC. It only lists “Chapters” there’s no subtitle. So if you want to go back and review character development for example you’ll need to jot down what chapter it’s in. I could be wrong, but have checked my settings and see no way to see what’s in each chapter.

Excellent and concise

I am currently listening to it for the second time in a row because it was so good.

An Unexpected Gem

***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.

Fantastic Beginner Or Refresher 4 Creative Writers

This short, two-hour, recording is packed full of writing tips, instruction and almost everything one would need to write any type of book. This includes nonfiction or fiction and Ruby Allure breaks down each subject into helpful steps to achieve your story!

I found myself marking each section so that I could go back and reference it as needed.

Though I doubt I have the discipline to ever write anything, I found that this would be an excellent resource should I ever try. Ruby Allure, it is excellent, thank you.

Erin B. Lillis narrates this text in an engaging and clear tone. Excellent and easy to understand.

*I received this book in exchange for my review. However, I am going to keep this very handy to me and would recommend it for anyone who is contemplating writing in all categories.

I NEVER really know what to expect when agreeing to these "listen in exchange for review" relationships. Lately, they have been one home run after another! This is no exception. A short course in creative writing: a compilation of lessons may not be for everyone (those who don't ever plan on writing a book) but for everyone who has ever considered it, this is a fantastic resource, four stars!

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. If you found it helpful in your decision to purchase (or not), would you take a moment and select yes directly beneath this text? Thank you.

A-Z of the creative writing process

What made the experience of listening to A Short Course In Creative Writing the most enjoyable?

This was an impressive audiobook! The author provided useful and well-thought advice on the writing process, along with many concrete examples. I was impressed that the author provided such a thorough analysis of the creative writing process, offering many impressive examples of her creative talent. This is definitely an audiobook that every aspiring creative writer should have!

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.

Excellent voice acting; text is a good refresher

Full disclosure: this was an audiobook that was given to me by the voice actor for an honest review. Her vocals were well modulated and made the text more interesting, so no complaints there. I'd recommend the contents of this book for newer writers and perhaps those new at teaching an introduction to writing course. More practiced writers may find the text to be a good refresher, but if they are looking for ways to challenge themselves, they might want to look into another text.

Practical advice on creative writing

This book is written and performed in a way that it could easily be enjoyed by writers and individuals that are interested in writing but perhaps haven't really tried (or folks that haven't written in awhile. It's full of good reminders and helpful tips to help get the creative juices flowing. The advice is practical. The exercises are a great jumping off point to get the brain thinking about writing. I would definitely listen to this again and would recommend it to anyone that is interested in creative writing.