{"product_id":"start-with-a-word-on-the-craft-and-adventure-of-writing-paperback","title":"Start with a Word: On the Craft and Adventure of Writing - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMarilyn McEntyre\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA creative masterclass for aspiring and established writers alike\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter decades of writing award-winning books on subjects ranging from poetry to art to liturgical seasons, celebrated author Marilyn McEntyre turns her attention to the vocation that has shaped her life. \u003ci\u003eStart with a Word: On the Craft and Adventure of Writing\u003c\/i\u003e is a literary masterclass that eschews drills and formulas in favor of close readings and refreshingly playful advice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA veteran teacher, Marilyn understands that the best writing instruction doesn't come from rigid rules or rote approaches to filling the blank page. Instead, she demonstrates how the writers whose works we have enjoyed can become our tutors. She calls us to move beyond asking \"What does this text say?\" to a more revealing question: \"How does this text work?\" This shift in perspective--from passive consumption to active apprenticeship--transforms how we encounter literature and how we create it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than a how-to manual, \u003ci\u003eStart with a Word\u003c\/i\u003e is an invitation into a way of being that honors both the precision and the mystery of words. It offers short lessons on essential elements of literary craft, close readings of passages from a range of works, writing prompts, and, above all, encouragement for authors to find their unique path into work only they can create. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Reading and writing keep alive in us the desire to be precise, lively, surprising, generous, inviting, challenging, wise. They make us want to be good, if only in the sense that choosing exact and appropriate words is a matter of choosing the good. . . . I don't think you can be an excellent writer without developing some virtues, if only fidelity to a practice that honors the gift of language.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarilyn McEntyre \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of multiple books on language and faith, including \u003ci\u003eWhat's in a Phrase? Pausing Where Scripture Gives You Pause\u003c\/i\u003e (winner of a \u003ci\u003eChristianity Today\u003c\/i\u003e 2015 book award in spirituality), \u003ci\u003eCaring for Words in a Culture of Lies\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSpeaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Make a List: How a Simple Practice Can Change Our Lives and Open Our Hearts\u003c\/i\u003e. She teaches writing at Western Theological Seminary and New College Berkeley and coaches writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 212\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.49 x 8.49 x 5.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 24, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51966899028269,"sku":"9780802883162","price":26.57,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/5Y5dd5g3GK9780802883162.webp?v=1775539655","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/start-with-a-word-on-the-craft-and-adventure-of-writing-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}