| Romance Writer's Phrase Book (Perigee Book) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Jean Kent, Candace Shelton
Publisher: Perigee Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy Used: $5.95
You Save: $7.00 (54%)
New (5) Used (31) from $5.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 0.4
ISBN: 0399510028
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.3
EAN: 9780399510021
Publication Date: March 21, 1984
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: A good readable copy; all pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). May have some usage wear, stickers, cover creases, bumped corners, bent pages, previous owner label or name, inscription, notes, underlining and/or highlighting. Text only; no CDs, InfoTrack, Access Codes, or other inclusions. Shipping confirmation and tracking provided. 100% of your purchase helps Goodwill create jobs and change lives.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
It's difficult to give much credibility to a book that late-night talk-show hosts read from in order to titillate their audiences, an indignity that has been endured by The Romance Writers' Phrasebook. But this slim volume, which lists more than 3,000 descriptive phrases, is actually a useful resource, and not only to romance writers. Any writer looking for a picturesque way of describing a character, demonstrating action, or revealing emotion will benefit from the advice of authors Jean Kent and Candace Shelton. Well-organized and arranged for quick reference, The Romance Writers' Phrasebook is divided into easy to search categories such as "Physical Description," "Body Movements," "Facial Expressions," "Emotion," and "Colors." Because it was originally published in 1984, many of the descriptive phrases have long since become cliche and exact usage should be avoided. The phrasebook is most useful as a source of inspiration and ideas for helping writers develop their own descriptive style.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 37 more reviews...
 GREAT WRITING TOOL FOR BEGINER OR WHEN YOU'RE HAVING A BRAIN FART. October 31, 2008
This book was a bit of a life saver. It's helped me to express what I've read so often and wanted to write, yet couldn't find the right words at the moment I needed them.
Yes, one could think of it as cheating, but really, couldn't we all say we've cheated. Don't we get much of what we write from our life experiences? Our own experiences, watching others, others stories we've heard, copy others expressions or actions, or little bits from here and there, from all those books we've soaked up over the years.
Face it, for most of us, writing is a learning experience. One that with time we grow and learn and get better only from trial and error and persistence. Until we get to be the writers we inspire to be, why not use every possible tool we can that is available to us. Eventually you won't need this book, but until you don't, it's a way to get over those humps.
Funny how when I first got this book, I used it constantly and now it sits close by, but doesn't come off the shelf nearly as often.
I love it! This was definitely one of the greatest writing tools I've invested in.
Helpful when you're stuck August 18, 2008
Think of this book as a romance writer's DW-40. If used correctly, it will let things glide along without sticking or squeaking.
I am an avid romance reader and I bought this at a used bookstore. I was more amused by the content than anything, but as I work on my own romance I find it as helpful to me as a thesaurus. It is sometimes difficult to think how else to say "she glanced" or "he smiled" or even the various ways a shade of color can be described - this book helps you get past a sticking point.
Great to get the creative juices flowing! October 9, 2007
Anyone who takes this book and writes these phrases verbatim did not read the book. The author clearly states in the beginning that it's meant to get your creative juices flowing. And that's what it did for me. While there are corny, cliche phrases in it, there is also a lot of good stuff that got me thinking of how to enrich my own writing.
If you are an aspiring romance writer, as I am, I believe you will find some useful stuff in there to expand your writing skills. It's easy to read, and categorized very well. I'll keep this book handy as I write.
Extremely Helpful Jump Starter September 14, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The writers of this book state it, this is a source for getting you -started- about thinking what phrases you may wish to use with writing a romantic scene. Not the book, not the chapter, but a scene. Its by far the best book out there for helping someone writing a sex scene. Any erotic romance writer's book only deals with one's attitude, to free oneself from guilt and just write it. Then they typically (4 out of 4 books so far) just say 'research it'. Here is one source you can use to help with the actual scene instead of a book that says just research it. It's approach to description of a character is good for simple minimizing lines. Good to sprinkle in what you write, but again, as the authors write, it is something to get you started. Give a hint, and then you will develope your own way to present your scene in a book.
Get it. January 11, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Every would-be romance writer should have this book, even as just fuel for their romantic imagination so they can insert more tags in their own writing.
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