A little over two years ago, a small group of aspiring authors accepted an invitation from L. Jagi Lamplighter to take an online writing class she was developing. Since it was in its nascent phase, she called it her “Guinea Pig” class. Guess who the lab rats were?

I took the class for three reasons. The first was I had the time, fortunately. The second was because, being “experimental,” Jagi offered a terrific discount, and third (and most important), I knew I had to “up my game” as a writer.

Up until that point, I was fueled on classes I’d taken in the very distant past, those books on writing that I’d managed to lay my hands on, and a lot of imagination.

That wasn’t going to be enough if I really wanted to become at least semi-skilled at writing interesting stories.

So I took her class and, in the process, not only began to improve my craft, but I met a group of really great people at the same time.

Now Jagi’s lessons have been honed and put into book form.

Welcome to The Art and Craft of Writing: Secrets for Taking Your Writing to the Next Level by L. Jagi Lamplighter.

The blurb on Amazon says in part:

Lamplighter brings her years of writing and editing experience to this new approach to understanding storytelling and how its many parts work together to weave a well-crafted and entertaining tale. Insights into theme, character, description, plot, portraying emotions, avoiding infodumps, dealing with tropes, and more.

New hope for writers in despair.

I don’t know if I was exactly in despair, but I sure needed something.

Oh, since then, more than 30 of my drabbles, short stories, and novelettes have been published in indie anthologies and periodicals, and the list keeps growing.

At 164 pages (assuming print), it’s probably a quick read, but my guess is not a quick study.

A lot of us have the “writing bug” but don’t know what to do with it. Most folks probably just drop it and move on, but for those of us who can’t, we need a focus. Almost no one is born with the innate ability to craft a compelling tale without some sort of training or influence. And while imagination and a quirky, creative muse probably can’t be taught, the rules of creatively writing can.

I recommend Jagi’s book. If you buy it and use it, let me know what you think. Better yet, leave an Amazon review and then let me know what you think.