---
product_id: 77957197
title: "Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook"
price: "₨915"
currency: SCR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 6
url: https://www.desertcart.sc/products/77957197-spilling-ink-a-young-writers-handbook
store_origin: SC
region: Seychelles
---

# Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook

**Price:** ₨915
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- **What is this?** Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook
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- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sc](https://www.desertcart.sc/products/77957197-spilling-ink-a-young-writers-handbook)

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## Description

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook : Potter, Ellen, Mazer, Anne, Phelan, Matt: desertcart.in: Books

Review: An excellent resource for young and aspiring writers - Excellent book for young writers! It introduces children to the basics of creative writing in a light tone and with loads of humour. Highly recommended!
Review: I haven't come across a "How to" book for kids about writing that has impressed me--till now. Spilling Ink is a chatty, informed, get-real look at writing by two children's book authors, and it doesn't waste time diagramming sentences and listing common spelling errors. Anne Mazer, author of series like Abby Hayes and Sister Magic, and Ellen Potter, author of books like Olivia Kidney and Slob, lay out what it means to be a writer and tell kids how to get the job done. This book is written in a thoroughly reader-friendly style, with the two authors taking turns giving advice in a manner reminiscent of blog posts. Hayes and Potter know their stuff, and it shows: as a writer, I was pleased to see such good ideas expressed so simply, not to mention humorously. For instance, the chapter and section titles are often entertaining: "More Crawling Lizards, Please," "Truth or Dare," "The Robo-Narrator," and "Belly Buttons" are a few of my favorites. Take a look at the book's tone in this selection from Ellen Potter: "Before I started writing seriously, I was under the delusion that 'real' writers sit down and write out the entire story in one nearly perfect, spectacularly clever draft. Oh, sure, maybe they would change a word or two, or rename one of their characters 'Nathan' because his original name, 'Jake,' reminds them too much of their cousin Jake who belches the theme music to retro TV shows. But that's about it. Wrong! Hugely, profoundly, utterly wrong." Spilling Ink offers instructive analogies, such as comparing a story's setting to a mood ring, and useful techniques, such as "the chicken-nugget circle." The authors provide short writing samples to illustrate their points here and there, which is so much more helpful than mere explanations. A writing activity at the end of each chapter is called "I Dare You," e.g., "Write a scene about a circus, but make the mood dark and grim." These activities are so spot-on that they're practically a shock--in contrast, I've seen far too many writing practice assignments in literature textbooks and school workbooks that weren't particularly relevant. Here writing concepts are explained charmingly, and, more important, clearly. The idea of letting your characters do their own thing and not over-managing them is tricky for many grown-up writers to understand, but Potter uses the idea of "Don't Be a Bully" to explain it. And Mazer tells us how she was inspired by those pre-Christmas calendar kiosks at the mall to create fun chapter headers for one of her series--illustrating how writers can transform everyday experiences into fiction. Mazer and Potter share their writing process with us; for example, showing how they brainstormed to choose the title for this book. They address problems that other books about writing don't always pinpoint, such as "Avoiding the Mad Dash," that tendency to slap on an ending that young writers--and some older ones--are prone to. Spilling Ink even covers topics like journaling and working with a writing partner. Matt Phelan's illustrations further add to the cheerful tone of the book, showing us sturdy young writers in spot art sprinkled throughout the pages. One of the book's best treats is the Appendix. Just when you think it's over, you find out that Anne and Ellen have interviewed each other in a section called "Spilling Secrets," which is full of fun biographical tidbits and a bonus slant on what it means to be a writer. I've seen a lot of boring books about how to write interesting books, which naturally struck me as ironic. But Spilling Ink takes its own advice: it's funny, specific, fascinating, and useful. I don't just recommend it to its target audience of 4th-6th graders, I recommend it to aspiring (and even published) writers who are in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and beyond.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #36,402 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #97 in Library & Information Science |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (473) |
| Dimensions  | 13.84 x 1.78 x 20.83 cm |
| Edition  | Illustrated |
| Grade level  | 7 - 9 |
| ISBN-10  | 159643628X |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1596436282 |
| Importer  | Atlantic Publishers and Distributors (P) Ltd., 7/22, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi - 110002 INDIA, Email – customercare@atlanticbooks.com, Ph – 011-47320500 |
| Item Weight  | 1 kg 50 g |
| Language  | English |
| Packer  | Bookswagon, 2/13 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002, Sales@bookswagon.com , 01140159253 |
| Print length  | 288 pages |
| Publication date  | 30 March 2010 |
| Publisher  | Square Fish |
| Reading age  | 9 - 14 years |

## Images

![Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/410gsgNtjjL.jpg)
![Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51M9R+nSlPL.jpg)
![Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718mUenvnzL.jpg)
![Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71KlFkzH92L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An excellent resource for young and aspiring writers
*by N***N on 25 November 2015*

Excellent book for young writers! It introduces children to the basics of creative writing in a light tone and with loads of humour. Highly recommended!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by K***S on 4 April 2010*

I haven't come across a "How to" book for kids about writing that has impressed me--till now. Spilling Ink is a chatty, informed, get-real look at writing by two children's book authors, and it doesn't waste time diagramming sentences and listing common spelling errors. Anne Mazer, author of series like Abby Hayes and Sister Magic, and Ellen Potter, author of books like Olivia Kidney and Slob, lay out what it means to be a writer and tell kids how to get the job done. This book is written in a thoroughly reader-friendly style, with the two authors taking turns giving advice in a manner reminiscent of blog posts. Hayes and Potter know their stuff, and it shows: as a writer, I was pleased to see such good ideas expressed so simply, not to mention humorously. For instance, the chapter and section titles are often entertaining: "More Crawling Lizards, Please," "Truth or Dare," "The Robo-Narrator," and "Belly Buttons" are a few of my favorites. Take a look at the book's tone in this selection from Ellen Potter: "Before I started writing seriously, I was under the delusion that 'real' writers sit down and write out the entire story in one nearly perfect, spectacularly clever draft. Oh, sure, maybe they would change a word or two, or rename one of their characters 'Nathan' because his original name, 'Jake,' reminds them too much of their cousin Jake who belches the theme music to retro TV shows. But that's about it. Wrong! Hugely, profoundly, utterly wrong." Spilling Ink offers instructive analogies, such as comparing a story's setting to a mood ring, and useful techniques, such as "the chicken-nugget circle." The authors provide short writing samples to illustrate their points here and there, which is so much more helpful than mere explanations. A writing activity at the end of each chapter is called "I Dare You," e.g., "Write a scene about a circus, but make the mood dark and grim." These activities are so spot-on that they're practically a shock--in contrast, I've seen far too many writing practice assignments in literature textbooks and school workbooks that weren't particularly relevant. Here writing concepts are explained charmingly, and, more important, clearly. The idea of letting your characters do their own thing and not over-managing them is tricky for many grown-up writers to understand, but Potter uses the idea of "Don't Be a Bully" to explain it. And Mazer tells us how she was inspired by those pre-Christmas calendar kiosks at the mall to create fun chapter headers for one of her series--illustrating how writers can transform everyday experiences into fiction. Mazer and Potter share their writing process with us; for example, showing how they brainstormed to choose the title for this book. They address problems that other books about writing don't always pinpoint, such as "Avoiding the Mad Dash," that tendency to slap on an ending that young writers--and some older ones--are prone to. Spilling Ink even covers topics like journaling and working with a writing partner. Matt Phelan's illustrations further add to the cheerful tone of the book, showing us sturdy young writers in spot art sprinkled throughout the pages. One of the book's best treats is the Appendix. Just when you think it's over, you find out that Anne and Ellen have interviewed each other in a section called "Spilling Secrets," which is full of fun biographical tidbits and a bonus slant on what it means to be a writer. I've seen a lot of boring books about how to write interesting books, which naturally struck me as ironic. But Spilling Ink takes its own advice: it's funny, specific, fascinating, and useful. I don't just recommend it to its target audience of 4th-6th graders, I recommend it to aspiring (and even published) writers who are in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and beyond.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by S***M on 6 November 2025*

I bought this as a gift for my friends daughter, and she's not put it down. She's taken it to school with her and I was told this week that the parent of one of her friends wanted a copy and they'd checked the name of the book with my friend. Thank you

## Frequently Bought Together

- Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook
- Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly
- Teen Writer's Guide: Your Road Map to Writing

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*Product available on Desertcart Seychelles*
*Store origin: SC*
*Last updated: 2026-02-11*