Bought a $50 writer's reference book and it's collecting dust

I picked up this huge thesaurus and style guide combo last month thinking it would fix all my weak descriptions. Cost me $50 and I've cracked it open maybe twice. The thing is full of examples that feel super dated and not helpful for modern fiction. Honestly, the free online tools and just reading more novels have taught me way more. Anyone else regret a writing purchase that seemed like a good idea at the time?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles5812d ago

Did a buddy of mine buy one of those fancy screenwriting software packages that ended up being too clunky to actually use? He swore by index cards and a yellow legal pad after that.

nancy8242d ago

That "swore by index cards and a yellow legal pad" part rings true, @miles581. Sometimes the simplest tools really do work best when you're trying to get ideas down without fighting the technology. Eventually most folks end up back at paper or a basic text doc.