Writing Solutions

About the Book

Writing Solutions:

Beginnings, Middles & Endings

Whether you are a novice writer, or an immediate journalism student; in a freshman English class; writing a speech, a technical report, advertising copy, or promotional or publicity material; beginning a magazine article or book; or working on any other writing project, you need to face the demands of that blank computer screen. You need to not only fill that blank screen, you need to begin your project effectively, introducing your subject to your reader with exactly the right beginning, and with confidence that you are expressing the right tone and style.

Writing Solutions fills a universal gap—this is a “generic” style book, if you will. It is deliberately not focused on journalism styles, nor focused for English 101 students, but is a style guide that can be used for all types of writing. It is also structured to be a self-help guide for writers who may not be enrolled in a college or university class. And it is also not too advanced for high school writing projects.

The more you know of technique, the easier everything becomes. The more styles of beginnings you know, the easier it is to conquer that blinking cursor on your blank computer screen.

The more structures (middles) you know, the easier it is to use the right form and to move through your work.

Choosing the right ending means the difference between letting your material just “dribble down the page” or ending with real emphasis or style.

To begin at the beginning is, next to ending at the end,

The whole art of writing.

—Hilaire Belloc

About the Author

Thomas Fensch has been writing for publication since 1967. His work has appeared in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines since that time. He is also the author or editor of 19 books of non-fiction, including The Hardest Parts: techniques for effective nonfiction and The Sports Writing Handbook. He has also taught nonfiction writing at the university level for 25 years and has published biographies of John Steinbeck, James Thurber, Oskar Schindler and Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel. A native of Ohio, Thomas Fensch has a doctorate in communications from Syracuse University and lives near Houston, Texas.