Yours"re no idiot, of course. You know how to tap out an e-mail to your boss, scrawl a note to your sweetheart, even throw in an extra flourish when you sign a greeting card. But when it comes to really writing that excruciating process of transferring your thoughts to paper without inventing some strange new language well, letrs"s just say you think you lack the write stuff. The written word was a great achievement in human history donrs"t give up on it just yet! The Complete Idiotrs"s Guide [rm] to Writing Well is the writing book yours"ve been waiting for everything you need to know to make writing of any kind as easy as thinking or speaking. In this Complete Idiotrs"s Guide [rm] , yours"ll get: Expert advice on making your writing as clear, persuasive and painless! as possible, whether itrs"s a thank-you note, a school paper, or an executive briefing. Easy-to-follow guidelines on structure, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, and style. No-nonsense advice on figuring out the three hardest parts of any writing the beginning, middle, and end! Terrific tips on minimizing the time and energy taken up by tasks like research (including on the Internet), note-taking, proofreading, and more.

Laurie Rozakis, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English and humanities at the State University of New York at Farmingdale