Title: Don't waste your money!
Product review: This one was a huge disappointment. I've read Petersen's essays and they're not bad. But in Writing Naturally the prose is clumsy and cliched; the chapters focus on the most elementary writing topics. He makes absurd and insulting suggestions. For example, he advises readers to avoid Thoreau because the "archaic" prose is "a tough row to hoe." I expected content on how to use natrual imagery for metaphic purpose, or techniques on observation and description. Instead I got a chapter on tense and point of view. He puts down other authors who load their writing books with their own writing, then he does exactly that himself! If you are a beginning writer who needs good, concrete information, I suggest you spend your money on a subscription to Writer's Digest or another monthly magazine that deals with the basics. You'll get much more value for your money!
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