*Identifies 29 mistakes common to every writer, beginning or advanced, fiction or nonfiction. Each tip is a self-contained lesson, demonstrating a frequent writing blunder and how to correct it. By focusing on the "do-nots." this book will help readers increase confidence in their writing. *These browsable nuggets of advice are quick to read, understand, and implement There are only two kinds of writing: lively, warm, personal prose that readers devour; and the rest. But writers--boxed in by constricting rules--know it's not easy to create the first and avoid the problems that create the second. In this book, the reader learns that some of the worst mistakes come from sticking too closely to "the rules." The tips are quick to read, browsable and fun. Examples include "Don't be a slave to a grammar guru" and "Don't write for your eight grade teacher". By learning what not to do, the reader will be set free to create the kind of writing that makes fiction and nonfiction crackle with life.