Babbling about Books--Thursday--The 4 A.M. Breakthrough

The 4 A.M. Breakthrough
Brian Kiteley
Non-fiction
Publisher: Writers’ Digest Books
(2008)

My husband states I am addicted to books—all kinds. But I admit that books on how to write top my list of favorites. Last week I told you about This Year You Write Your Novel. Today I want to sing the praise of a great tool to overcome writers’ block. Its title is The 4:00 A.M. Breakthrough by Brian Kitely.

It gives 200 stimulating ideas to jump start your writing. It’s great for those days when you look at the screen, nothing creative creeps into your thoughts, so you decide it might be a good time to play a few rounds of Solitaire.

In addition, I think it's great to help practice your writing in general. If you are a beginning writer, these short assignments will be great practice. If you are a professional writer, they are fun to do because they are creative—without a deadline.

Here’s a partial excerpt to give you an idea of what The 4 A.M. Breakthrough is like in content.

Birth Order: Write a fragment of fiction about a three-sibling family. The youngest and the middle children battle the oldest for something. This should be a war of wits, not fists, or hair pulling. 500 words. (Kiteley page 221).

If you’re a writer and like this type of exercise, this is a great book. There are many books along this line to help break through writers’ block, but The 4:00 A.M. Breakthrough is more on the literary side. It is available through Amazon along with many other books published by Writers’ Digest books specifically to enhance the craft of writing.

See you tomorrow on The Writer’s Porch.