Many books attempt to teach the elements of good non-fiction writing, but only one does it in the gentle, humorous way of famous writing coach Paula LaRocque. LaRocque's new book is the result of a lifetime spent as a journalist and writing educator. This book contains 25 chapters in three sections. The first section spells out a dozen essential guidelines to good writing, from the importance of short sentences to the value of using a conversational tone. Section Two teaches the reader how to tell a story -- how to build suspense, how to effectively describe things, how to use literary devices. Section Three is a concise handbook on writing mechanics, such as grammar, usage, punctuation and style. Each section is loaded with illustrative examples of great non-fiction writing, and LaRocque's gentle humour makes reading a pleasure. This is LaRocque's gift to the writing world -- it is destined to become a classic.

保拉·拉罗克（Paula LaRocque），西密歇根大学文学硕士、畅销书及专栏作家、沟通顾问，自 20 世纪 90 年代初以来，一直活跃于写作和教授写作的高校、媒体等领域。1990 年至 2001 年，保拉成为美联社管理编辑协会的成员，2001 年，该协会授予她最高荣誉 —— 为新闻业做出杰出贡献的“功勋服务奖”。