Thou Shalt Honor
Thy Reader, Thou Shalt Not Waste Words, Thou Shalt Not
Kill Thy Sentences—these are three of the “pen”
commandments through which, with humor and an engaging
sense of purpose, Steven Frank inspires his readers
not just to write but to write well.
Thou Shalt Take Pleasure in Thy
Pen: As Frank watches a group of students huddle around
a boy who is gleefully explaining a mysterious scar,
an infallible writing topic emerges—describe the
grossest thing that’s ever happened to you. Thou
Shalt Not Pick on the Puncts: Frank persuades a hyperkinetic
teen to slow down long enough to let punctuation marks
help the boy’s own natural storytelling ability
come through. Thou Shalt Overcome Writer’s Block:
With practical advice and compelling case studies, Frank
unfreezes the pens of struggling writers all around
him, from his mail carrier to a former student to his
own mom.
Drawing on Frank’s considerable
experience as an English teacher, his passion for writing,
and his love of language, The Pen Commandments is a
witty and accessible book that entertains as it instructs.
