The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life

A well-organized and immensely helpful guide for writers at all levels to jump-start their creativity, refine their work, and approach the realm of virtuosos.” — Shelf Awareness

“The Writer’s Portable Mentor should be required reading for any working writer.” —Scott Driscoll, award-winning Seattle journalist.

“I think The Writer’s Portable Mentor is the best writing instruction I have used, and I have a bookcase full of how-to-write books.” — Suzan Huney, Writer

“I believe Priscilla Long’s clear and patient mentoring will encourage you in your writing, helping you figure out what already shines and how to make the rest shine brightly, too.” –Sheila Bender, author of A New Theology: Turning to Poetry in a Time of Grief

“Priscilla Long distills twenty years of teaching and creative thought into these pages. The Writer’s Portable Mentor should be in every writer’s backpack to read, underline, and share with delight.”
—Laura Kalpakian, novelist, memoirist.

“I especially like the author’s emphasis on craft, on developing good work habits, and mastering the fundamentals of prose structure.” —Ralph Keyes, author of The Courage to Write

Priscilla Long is one of the most brilliant teachers of writing I’ve ever studied with (and I’ve been taking and teaching writing classes for over 25 years). Priscilla has developed a unique and powerful process that encourages her students to grow as writers. She explains complicated techniques in clear language, and illustrates her points with gems of great writing, collected over a lifetime of ardent reading. … When I first read out loud the essay I wrote in her class, my audience gasped with amazement (yes, it was that good). —Waverly Fitzgerald, novelist (Saint John’s Wood and Mayfair as Nancy Fitzgerald) and author of Slow Time: Recovering the Natural Rhythms of Life.