Books on Writing

I've now read three books on how to be a writer. One, a gift from my wife, was very useful. It wasn't preachy or formulaic. It didn't promise to make me a better writer, though I believe it did. Then there are the other two. (Which I bought myself.)

I should state here that I learned important lessons from both of these books. However all that I learned was contained in the first chapter. Past that was nothing of any interest or value. In the first case, chapters two through fourteen were nothing but rewordings of chapter one. In the second case, the later chapters were not related to learning to write at all. They were anecdotes about the writer's experiences about sitting at tables in cafes trying to write and the interruptions she experienced. Some were interesting, but none reinforced the useful lessons learned way back at the beginning of the book.

So what is the lesson here? Always sample multiple chapters before committing to a book you may be basing your career on. Or, more importantly, remember that most books found in the bargain bin are there for a reason.