Lowry offers both inspiration and technical help in this upbeat guide for young writers. Strong on enthusiasm and Zen spirit, the manual lacks much in the way of literary models but offers many gimmicks—inventing new religions, writing about a day in the life of a shoe and writing your life as a fairy tale. Chapter four is the strength of the guide, offering solid advice on such narrative elements as character, plot, form, point of view and dialogue—and the ever-important, “Why you have to make your characters miserable.” Readers will absorb a sense of what it means to be a writer, especially through such sections as “The best and worst things about being a writer.” The final chapter leads readers to the Internet’s wealth of resources for young writers, including blogs, author websites and organizations. Though the author doesn’t do enough to exhort young writers to be readers, she offers a healthy sampling of writing ideas useful to motivated students and their teachers. (Nonfiction. 12 & up)
