Book Description
Katherine Anne Porter called courage "the first essential" for a writer. "I have to talk myself into bravery with every sentence," agreed Cynthia Ozick, "sometimes every syllable." E. B. White said he admired anyone who "has the guts to write anything at all."An author who has taught writing for more than thirty years, Ralph Keyes assures readers that anxiety is felt by writers at every level and can be harnessed to produce honest and disciplined work., Keyes offers specifics on how to make the best use of writers' workshops and conferences and how to handle criticism of works in progress; he also exposes the most common "false fear busters" (needing new equipment, a better setting, a new agent). Throughout, he includes the comments of many accomplished writers--Pat Conroy, Amy Tan, Rita Dove, Isabel Allende, and others--on how they transcended their own anxieties to produce great works.
Customer Reviews:
There Are Few Books Like It.......2007-05-24
If you're a writer, want to be a writer, or know and love a writer and want to better understand what a writer faces and how you can help - this book is for you.
This is one of the best books I've read about the heart of a writer and how to face the fears - big and little - that all writers face, whether they're crafting their first story or their fiftieth novel.
Fear of a blank page. Fear of being exposed as a fake. ("I'm not a real writer, not like so-and-so.") Fear of what family or friends will think about you and what you've written. Fear of getting started. Fear of finishing. Fear of submission. Fear of rejection.
It takes a great deal of courage to write. There are a hundred reasons not to, and only a few reasons to do so. This book explores those fears and talks about how other writers cope with them. Fear is also the writer's friend, and this book offers plenty of practical advice on how to turn those fears into excellent fiction.
I've had one novel published which went on to win a couple of national awards and was a finalist for a couple more. I've had about 60 short stories published in mass market anthologies, magazines, and a few small presses. I read this book as I was tackling the rewrite of a troublesome third act in my second novel. It was just the inspiration I needed at the time I needed it most. I've already begun to apply many of the suggestions found in the book.
A Must-Have for any New/Student Writer!.......2006-07-13
I read The Courage to Write and The Writer's Book of Hope. Both are WONDERFUL and I highly recommend them! I am a grad student enrolled in an MFA in Creative Writing and I find Keyes' books to be very insightful. They will stay on my shelf forever. Another great one is Brenda Ueland's book, If You Want To Write.
Not for every writer.......2006-06-19
This is a great book for "any writer who aspires to publish on a regular basis" (p. 149). It has less to offer those who do not intend to make a living of it (like me), although the discussion of self-revelation should be valuable to all. The reader also has to be tolerant of Keyes's examination of EVERYTHING through the lens of anxiety. At points it feels like he's pushing his theme too hard. As others have said, the stories about well-known authors are enjoyable. I also agree with those who have said that the first part of the book is relatively slow. I think Keyes is confused about his audience at that point. When he also misuses the word "panache" on page 8 (He means "cachet."), I was afraid this book was just too amateurish. However, from about Chapter 3 he hits his stride, and I was pretty well engaged, except when I felt he was speaking to full-time aspirants and that I was not part of his truely anxious audience.
Overcome Your Writing Fears .......2006-05-28
One of the more interesting aspects of this book is Keyes' collection of stories and quotes. It's worth reading just for this wonderful collection. Discussions of fear, rejections, and the usual negative litany of writer complaints are discussed in colorful detail.
The first half of the book, "The Elements of Courage" is a little tough to get through at times, from a style standpoint. The second half, "Coming to Terms with Fear," is better written; it flows and reads easier. Part II really feels like Mr. Keyes found some inner voice and he shares that voice openly.
And I thought I was in a minority!.......2006-04-18
I have been a writer since I got my first diary in [...] As I get older, I put more and more importance on my writing, whether it is on the inside of a birthday card to a friend, or a final essay that will make or break my grade for a class. And this is where the fear comes in. This book really opened my eyes to the fact that it is actually normal to feel this way, and that the anxiety that comes with the writing process can be used as a tool to improve your writing. The book was fun to read, I carried it with me everywhere while I was reading it. And most of all it really reassured me that I not only COULD write, but that I actually SHOULD. Very powerful, very motiviating and encouraging.
Average customer rating:
- Aung San Suu Kyi
- The eloquent voice of an often forgotten but mighty land
- Indispensible
- Freedom from Fear and Other Writings
- Freedom from fear
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Freedom from Fear and Other Writings: Revised Edition
Aung San Suu Kyi
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
Myanmar | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
Southeast Asia | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
20th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Asian | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Human Rights | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Beyond Rangoon
ASIN: 0140253173 |
Customer Reviews:
Aung San Suu Kyi.......2003-09-21
The best writing I've ever read ... about striving democracy in peace... I love That Woman!!!!
The eloquent voice of an often forgotten but mighty land.......2003-09-13
I re-read this book shortly after Aung San Suu Kyi was placed, once again, under house arrest in 2003. The daughter of the man who is referred as the founding father of Burma(today called Myanmar) - Aung San - is herself a major political figure in her country. The chapter about her father - who was assassinated when the author was two years old - is an impressive, informative, and dispassionate account of Aung San's days as a student leader and his leadership of the independence movement that established modern Burma as a nation. My own father was a foreign correspondent in Burma in the late 1940s and had covered the assassination of Aung San and his colleagues. This left me since my childhood with a deep curiosity about this period of Burmese history - and Aung San's daughter's account does not leave curious readers like myself disappointed. Most of the book is devoted to the life and times of Suu Kyi herself. It includes several articles by other writers who help readers understand how a Burmese woman rises to national prominence in a country which has known but unbroken military dictatorship for decades. This book is also about Burmese culture, religion, and language, and should be on the bookshelf on anyone who has a serious interest in this curious, wretched country of tremendous unfulfilled potential.
If you have an interest in Burmese or Southeast Asian history, you might also consider reading Amitav Ghosh's The Glass Palace, a historical novel which I have also reviewed on this website.
Indispensible.......2003-04-19
This book was for me an opener into the evolution of Burma's political scene, and it proved to be a good one.
Whilst it takes some time to get accustomed to the many abbreviations of Burma's political parties and factions, once it is gotten used to, Freedom from Fear becomes an essential book for those interested in the becoming of Aung San Suu Kyi - daughter of Burma's national hero, the late Aung San - and her process of fighting and eventually winning the support of the country she always called home depite her international influences.
Though Freedom from Fear would be a good book to start learning about Burma's modern political history, I would suggest first reading about pre-colonial Burma to get a better grasp and understanding of the country's stand and place in Southeast Asia.
Freedom from Fear and Other Writings.......2002-05-18
This book really inspired me. And all the details information written in this book are 100% accurate and I was so suprised to read all those history things that I have learnt in my childhood in my country, Myanmar. I believe this is one of the books that every patriots of Burma should have.
Freedom from fear.......2002-02-26
this book is very good for me to build my strength
and power for fight against military dictatorship
in my country. Thank you for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
KoKoOo
Average customer rating:
- Theological Tour de Force
- and isaac cried out, "if i have no father on earth, then you
- Was Kierkegaard a "Knight of faith"?
- The meaning of Repetition
- A brilliancy prize
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Fear and Trembling/Repetition : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol. 6
Soren Kierkegaard ,
Edna H. Hong , and
Howard V. Hong
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Kierkegaard, Soren | ( K ) | Authors, A-Z | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Works of Love
ASIN: 0691020264 |
Customer Reviews:
Theological Tour de Force.......2005-10-26
This edition of 'Fear and Trembling' is an excellently produced and translated edition, with the interesting and helpful prefaces and selections of journal quotes typical of the Writings series.
'Fear and Trembling' presents a very penetrating, and ultimately disturbing, investigation into the personal and 'existential' implications of the religious concept of faith, as illustrated by the story of Isaac's sacrifice in Genesis 22.
Reviewers like to analyse the text either in respect to the biography of Kierkegaard, or of his literary output (or in relation to the other book in this collect, 'Repetition'), which are fair enough, but nevertheless, this book stands on its own with the question of whether religious faith can be a 'teleological suspension of the ethical.' This sounds like it could be a tendious philosophical excercise, but his erudition and literary skill constantly defies ones attempt to reduce or domesticate the paradoxes which he throws forward to his reader. The text still today offers each reader a choice of his own.
and isaac cried out, "if i have no father on earth, then you.......2005-02-20
be my father!" those hongs really know how to edit a book, wow. still i think most of the credit has to be given to johannes de silentio for writing it. i haven't read repetition yet. it'll probably a really brain teaser.
Was Kierkegaard a "Knight of faith"?.......2001-03-31
In addition to the parallels between this story and SK's relation with his father mentioned by previous reviewers, another important parallel is his failed engagement with Regine Olsen. She is his Isaac, who he must sacrifice. Perhaps he thinks his own calling, means that he too can "teleologically suspend" the ethical (duties to Regine). Its remarkable, that we now should be so concerned about the private live of a pseudonymous author. Is Johannes de Silentio a poetic side of Kierkegaard? Poetic yes, but paradoxically he also says he is purely dialectic.
The different takes of the Abraham story, remind me of Rabbinical midrash. The four different accounts did not happen, but they might have. It is a way of stretching the story, and a way to introduce his "faith by virtue of the absurd". The tragic hero remains in the ethical, but Abraham is different that this, and is related to the Absolute. Very thought provoking!
The meaning of Repetition.......2000-07-12
These two books are twins: published on the same day, with the same purpose: the failed explications of an essential Kierkegaardian concept: Repetiton. Why, when an author clearly knows the meaning of a concept in his own terminology, would he fail to be able to explain it? Why would an author make failure part of the purpose of a book? There is a reasons. The authors of both books are pseudonyms. Kierkegaard does not use nom de plumes. He creates characters and then writes the book from that perspective. Johannes de Silento (the author of "Fear and Trembling")is a poet. Constantine Constantinus (the author of "Repetition") is an experimental psychologist. These characters attempt to define repetition, but their methods will not allow them. Repetition is not reducible to poetry (romanticism) or science (reason). Now why is that? It is necessary to Kierkegaard's project (the book "Repetition" shows that it is necessary) because his project is essentially Christian and Revelation cannot be derived philosophically (Hence Constantine Constantinus' failure). But how do you get to discuss Christian ideas, then? By an elaborate method of importation and laundering. For instance, Constantine Constantinus introduces Repetition by comparing it to Platonic recollection. But the real source for importation is the Old Testament. Fear and Trembling is an elaborate interpretation of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. Repetition ends with the Young Man (the guinea pig for Constantine Constantius' psychological experiments) writting on the Book of Job. In each case, something is sacrificed and yet the one who sacrifices finds the sacrifice restored to him. Much ink has been spilt showing how this copncept relates to Kierkegaard's abortive engagement or his relations to his father (and I am sure SK appreciates this muddying of the waters; he never liked an audit trail), but the primary image is that of God the Father sacrificing his Son, and, through the Ressurrection (as Johannes de Silento would say, by virtue of the absurd) receiving him back again.
A brilliancy prize.......1999-12-11
SK once claimed had he written no other book, Fear and Trembling would have sufficed to make his reputation as one of the greats of literature. A fair assessment, but he did indeed write other books and Fear and Trembling needs to fit within that context. This is especially the case in relation to its twin: Repetition. This is even more urgent when you recognize Fear and Trembling's subject matter, which is: Repetition. SK introduces the concept with typical irony: neither Constantine Constantinus nor the Young Man, nor Johannes de Silento actually achieve repetition. Repetition is negatively defined: we are told not what it is, but what it is not. We are told that repetiton occurs "by virtue of the absurd." Sartre took this construction directly into his philosophy and made himself a laughing stock. This goes to show that either you keep you sense of humor fully operational in reading SK's books or he will make you look like a jerk. People who do not laugh long and loud at these books will not be able to interpret them without claiming for themselves absolute idiocy. And people who do not understand Repetition may as well stop wasting their time on Kierkegaard. Perhaps the can do Nietzsche and perspectivism instead?
Book Description
125 women share their real-life experience through treatments, recovery, aftermath, and reclaiming life after breast cancer.
Customer Reviews:
Just keep swimming.......2007-07-07
I read this book cover to cover in 2 days and loved the quotations, experiences, suggestions, wisdom, thoughts and feelings of those touched by breast cancer.
I was particularly struck by the cover of the book to start with. I have had a recurrent dream starting in the long ago past in which a huge wave (looks almost exactly like that picture) is coming which will wipe out all life on earth. I have to decide if I'm just going to stay put, try to outrace it with my car (useless) or try to swim through it. I decided to start swimming. I wonder if this was a message to me in advance to "just keep swimming" as Dory in Finding Nemo kept singing. Most of the stories written here encourage us all to do just that.
I'm a survivor, too.......2006-11-16
Hi Leila! I am a survivor who has many quotes in your book, Dancing with Fear. I just got a copy yesterday and I couldn't put the book down. It truly is a wonderful and inspiring thing to read. After I finished it, my husband read it and was brought to tears. He wants to order some copies for both of our daughters and at least one friend of his whose wife is going thru cancer, but not breast cancer. As my husband said, this information is useful to anyone!
I have continued to have problems related to my treatment which have given me and my family more challenges to overcome. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to work as an RN and am not able to keep up my "normal" fast pace of life. I find that I go back to this book from time to time to get some strength again.
Real advice about breast cancer from real people.......2006-10-24
I am a three-year breast cancer survivor and have read many, many books on the subject, but "Dancing With Fear" was one of the most personal. By the time I finished reading it, I was thinking of the women quoted as friends of mine! They seemed so real, because they ARE real, and that made the book one of my favorites!
If you buy 2 books for Breast Cancer, Make one this one!.......2006-10-03
I checked this book out of the library and now I am buying it, along with Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book. I also like the Mayo Clinics Guide to Women's Cancers. I was diagnosed a month ago, am recovering from a mastectomy, have Stage 3C cancer, and will be starting chemo and radiation. I love this book because it's written in plain english, it deals with the practical and the emotional, and it presents many sides of the issue. Every woman's cancer and treatment is different, and this book gives you an idea of the spectrum of what to expect every step of the way. It's also an easy book to flip through -- I plan to bring it to chemo, and I am copying my favorite bits of advice and quotations into a small journal. I hope to contribute to the sequel.
It is filled with wonderful quotations and proverbs (not about breast cancer, but about life, healing, fear, etc.)
This may sound silly, but I also like the size of the book, the title, and the cover art.
I've checked some 20 books out of the library, and this is one my favorites.
Wisdom from the Source.......2006-08-07
Many women from North America and a few from Europe responded to a questionnaire involving the diagnosis, treatment and future prognosis of their particular type of breast cancer. They offered valuable insights and practical suggestions. More importantly, these women offered hope. They valued each day given to them and looked to the future with hopeful expectation. They are an inspiration.
Book Description
Fear of Writing is for writers (including closet writers!) who experience a familiar thud in the pit of the stomach when they visualize sitting down to write. The process of learning to flow is demystified, and a triage of fun is applied to heal the old writing scars.
Through short stories about fictional characters with fear of writing, you'll realize you're not alone. Through writing exercises known as Fertile Material, you'll learn the skills you need to have F-U-N with writing . . . even if you've never written a story before!
See sample below for Chapter One, testimonials, and a profile of the writing exercises. You can also see four complete Fertile Material exercises at fearofwriting.com
Customer Reviews:
A Nudge Needed.......2007-06-19
As I have been published in a weekly newspaper column for more than ten years, I probably fit more in the group called '...writers' rather than persons new to writing who are trying to gain traction.
Like most writers I hesitate to declare that I am one.I do however write, regularly, for publication.
Milli's book and guidance gave me a different direction to go in.I had reached a cross road and was stalled. Her book provided a stimulus and a challenge.It also provided a frame to work within.
Her list of topics and coaching were very useful, are valued still.
Had I not bought the book and read it, digested it in part, I might never have tried doing fiction.
This book provided a solid point of departure.It provided credible assistance along the route.
More than those things, it provided a place in which some of us may try different things, with firm but empathetic direction as we try.
Anyone who is serious about writing has recognizable milestones that are beside the path or trail they take or are shown.
I have a feeling this book Milli Thornton created may very well be one of those for me.
Respectfully Submitted,
F.S. Lentz
Got me writing again.......2006-02-25
Milli Thornton's Fear of Writing has inspired me to write again, helping to end a lengthy 'writer's block.' I have enjoyed responding to the prompts.
She Has Spies In My House! I Just Know It!.......2006-01-13
What I want to know is how Milli Thornton knew exactly where I was when I began reading Fear Of Writing: I was curled up in bed. She knew that, and she told me that I was not allowed to read her book in bed:
"To begin with, this is not a bedtime book. Just as you would never dream of exercising aerobically right before you go to sleep, this book should be strictly a daytime pursuit. . . . so don't read this book in bed (Thornton, 10)."
When I read this, I put the book down. But I was afraid to pick it up again. What else would Thornton know about me? Would she know that I hate everything I write as soon as I write it? Would she know that I often don't write because I know I'll end up hating my work-that I make myself fail before I even try?
I did finally conquer my fear of reading Fear Of Writing, though, and I am glad I did. Thornton's insights, anecdotes, and short stories are not only helpful, but are also fun to read. And her Fertile Material exercises stretch the imagination! I've written from the point of view of a mutt-hating Siamese cat, a cockroach-loving activist, and a jazz musician.
I love that Thornton gives her readers no pressure to write the perfect piece. She gives a prompt, and you can write whatever you want, be it a poem, a dialogue, a short story, or a stream-of-consciousness piece. You don't even have to finish the story! Just write something, anything, to get those creative juices flowing. You can choose to share your writings with others (I have found that sharing them with the Fertile Material group on Yahoo! is quite rewarding.) or keep them to yourself. You simply write for yourself-an audience of one. No fear there!
This is an absolutely wonderful book! Anyone plagued by the fear-of-writing bug should read it and use the Fertile Material exercises. You won't be sorry!
I'm free!.......2005-12-29
I didn't really think of myself as a closet writer, or even a writer of any kind for that matter, until I read a copy of "Fear of Writing." Even though I had ideas for books "I want to write someday" swimming in my head, I never had the courage to embrace the idea of it actually coming to fruition until I read Milli's book. Her book changed my attitude and diminished my fear within the first few pages. "Fear of Writing" gave me instant inspiration and permission to write freely without worrying about making a mistake. Heaven forbid I make a mistake! I've been doing that in my everyday life, so why am I worried about it in writing? I love this book and I respect Milli for her courage and tenacity to make this book happen and her willingness to share her knowledge. If you have ever once considered creating a story of any kind, do yourself a favor and read Milli's book. You won't regret it.
The Cure For What Ails Ya!.......2005-12-18
Do I have a "Fear Of Writing?" You bet I do. I'm loaded with it.
And sometimes, before buying this book, I was paralyzed by my fear.
But then, I happened upon a magical book. I discovered Milli Thornton's "Fear Of Writing: For Writers & Closet Writers," and this wonderful book helped me understand that being afraid to write didn't make me a failed writer. Having a "Fear Of Writing" is a natural outgrowth of my own desires to become a better and more successful writer.
Did this book cure me of my fear? Absolutely not.
Instead, I've found that this text has given me the tools I need to continue to write in spite of my fear. I've learned that being afraid is okay. And, most importantly to me, I've come to understand that I am NOT a failed writer unless I allow my fear to control me and prevent me from writing.
Using a series of fun and imaginative exercises, as well as personal anecdotes and insight from other writers, Ms. Thornton has written a book that provides what individual writers need most.
Need the warmth of a hug to support you and get you back to your desk?
You'll find that hug in these pages.
Need a sprinkling of fairy-dust to call your muse back to your side?
This book will show you many, many ways to locate a muse that's gone missing.
Maybe you're like me, though.
Maybe what you really need is a kick in the seat of your britches.
Maybe that's what it will take to get you writing again.
If so, the author will give you a firm but gentle boot with the included "Fertile Material Exercises." These exercises are enchanting, silly, exciting, and most of all, they are fun. Plus, they are certain to kick-start your imagination and get the words flowing.
This is one of those rare books that deserves a spot on every writer's desk. Regardless if you're a seasoned pro or someone completely new to creative writing, this book will help you write more, write better, and help you overcome your "Fear Of Writing."
Customer Reviews:
Thought-Provoking Essays, Religious and Political..........2002-06-16
Acton is probably most known for his quote: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (1804-1902) was born to a wealthy English aristocrat and become a brilliant scholar. He was Victorian England's most renowned historian and political thinker. Acton was a Roman Catholic educated under the Catholic historian Ignaz von Dollinger in Munich. Acton found the idea of Papal Infallibility to be appalling. To Acton, holding the Vatican on a pedestal as the infallible arbiter of religious and moral conscience was detrimental to the cause of liberty. Acton was a classical liberal who seems to possess the prescriptive wisdom and prudence of Edmund Burke when it comes to politics.
This collection of essays and commentary features a selection of Acton's thoughts on the interrelation between church and state, religion, politics and morality. The first section features essays on Liberal Catholicism; the second section includes Acton's commentary on the Vatican Council; and the third section features Perspectives on History, Religion and Morality. The fourth and final section features an intriguing collection of quotations on various topics like Liberty, Conscience, Church, Democracy, Federalism, Nationality, Property and Socialism to name a few. This final section makes the book very useful resource for Acton's witticisms. I don't wholeheartedly embrace all of the ideas of Acton, but this book is nonetheless an eye-openning window into European Old Whig political thought during the 19th century.
Average customer rating:
- Colorful opinions, surprising anecdotes, and useful advice
- This Is The Black Bible...
- Inspirational
- Great Reading
- An excellent overview
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Dark Thoughts: On Writing : Advice and Commentary from Fifty Masters of Fear and Suspense
Manufacturer: Underwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Wiater, Stanley | ( W ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Fiction | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
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Mystery | Genre Fiction | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
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On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association
ASIN: 188742430X |
Amazon.com
Stanley Wiater is a veteran journalist of the horror field, and a skillful interviewer. In Dark Thoughts: On Writing he has thematically grouped well-selected quotations from horror creators: major influences; the day-to-day work of writing; choosing a form (short stories, novels, comics, or movies); fame and fortune; the game of making movies (as seen by Wes Craven, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, and George Romero, among others); sex and death; censorship; personal fears and philosophies; surprising advice; the function of horror; and "Where do you get your ideas?" Also included are two choice reading lists, and a guide to print and electronic resources. A sample quotation from Joe R. Lansdale: "It's very easy to offend--but it's not easy to offend deeply." Peter Straub: "Sometimes you want to 'hurt' [your] readers. But at the same time you don't want to hurt them too badly--I mean, you do want to hurt them very badly at a couple points--but you don't want to leave them that way." Clive Barker: "Writing about the unholy is one way to write about the sacred." Horror readers and writers, as well as movie fans and moviemakers, will find much here to savor, laugh at, and learn from. Just one complaint: of the 52 writers quoted, only 2 are women.
Book Description
A cornucopia of concrete, to-the-point advice about writing from more than 50 of the greatest horror writers.
Customer Reviews:
Colorful opinions, surprising anecdotes, and useful advice.......2007-09-13
Do you wonder what scares your favorite horror writers? Would you like to know who influenced them, or where they get their ideas? Wonder no longer--the answers to these and other intriguing questions can be found in Dark Thoughts On Writing. Editor Wiater, drawing on interviews he's conducted with fifty writers of horror and suspense, presents their responses to these questions and their opinions on censorship, the affect of fame and fortune, and why they choose to write in the genre. The result is a plethora of colorful opinions, surprising anecdotes, and useful advice from a wide selection of horror writers, including Stephen King, Anne Rice, Jack Ketchum, Ira Levin, Clive Barker, Matthew Costello, Charles L. Grant, Nancy A. Collins, F. Paul Wilson and Richard Matheson. Must reading for horror fans and aspiring writers in all genres.
This Is The Black Bible..........2002-08-28
...and quite possibly the best collection of quotes from the broadest range of leaders in the field that I have ever devoured. I started reading it with a highlighter to cover the best advice. Excluding the front and back covers and the title page, the book is now entirely yellow. From veterans to fresh meat on the hook, this is the bloody book to read if you want to take your craft seriously. What more can I say to rave about this? Buy it. Read it. Then read it again. Keep it within reach of your desk for inspiration when the words just don't seem to flow. It's like a horror convention in your brain!
Inspirational.......2001-11-29
This book is so inspirational it amazes me. It is quote after quote by famous authors on different topics that apply to horror writing. I think this is one of the most inspirational books on horror writing. I love this book!
Great Reading.......2000-05-14
As an aspiring writer, I was especially interested in these writers' basic influences, fears, and drives. After the first chapter, I was glued to this book, absorbing the thoughts of writers such as Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Anne Rice, and many others. This is a great gift for a horror fan.
An excellent overview.......2000-02-16
This is a book that will be of interest to the struggling writer and the devoted fan alike: the author culls thought-provoking, helpful, and at times highly amusing quotes from his series of interviews with the giants of dark fiction and distills them into one handy volume.
As a writer, one topic I found particularly interesting was the matter of influences: discovering who inspired the authors and artists who inspire me was fascinating.
Book Description
The first book for writers that explores the emotional side of writing--dealing with everything from envy to guilt to the dreaded writer's block.
Customer Reviews:
Dissappointing.......2007-09-18
When I bought this book, I was hoping for something that would inspire me and help me take action against the writers' block I had been experiencing. I wanted something practical, something with solutions.
As I read the book, though, it quickly became apparent that it was none of those things. Rather provide than a practical guide on various ways to FIX the dilemmas she describes, the author merely treads water on the subject. She simply talks about the different writing-related problems she's had in the past. The book is full of her memories and interpretations. But that's where each chapter stops. There's no additional step, no suggestions on how to overcome each problem. I quickly got tired of the book's semi-autobiographical nature, irritated at the author's frequent references to herself and her own writing career. I wanted a guide, I wanted inspirational ideas and instruction, I wanted something I could USE. Instead, the book seemed to be an abstract discussion about psychology and feelings. The author seems to be saying "I'd rather analyze problems than solve them."
If I'd bought this book solely with an interest in psychology, I might have actually liked it. There are times when I can get really fascinated by analytical psycho-jumble. If that's what I'd been craving when I began reading this, it might have been ideal.
But for someone who wants help in actually overcoming writers' block, rather than just idly talking about it, I feel this book falls sadly short.
Helpful insights.......2006-08-28
This book unlike many others isn't a real workbook, if you want that I would recommend Keith Hjortshoj's Writing Blocks, but it is very helpful, and I actually got this one from Keith's recommendation.
One of the great things I learnt here, is that "Writing isn't about control" controlling how the audience responds to you, this mythic audience anyways, writing isn't about perfection, "writing is about release". Letting it go. I found that helpful for like Bonnie I would worry about this or that and never start -- I have to make sure everything was ok. Everything was neat. The dishes washed, the dogs walked, the clothes hung and dried and folded. I had a billion things to control in my writing environment as well, I don't have the best word processor, my keyboard stinks or like her who was obsessing too much about a fly in her room, something around me is out of whack and "I must get to it!"
Bonnie made me realise that all of this was a a control issue, I thought it was taking care of business, and that in my ego-mania I wanted to control everything, myself, my writing and my reader. Finally I realised there wasn't much I could control, I would be lucky if I could control my fingers hitting the right keypads, I'm such a poor typist, and there in lies the rub. Art is messy, and I have to get used to it. Bonnie shows and points out how she did. I found that immensely helpful.
Highly personal and well-written book on writing--and the problems of writing.......2006-01-26
Anyone who announces he's a writer is likely to be approached by someone. "I've got an idea for a story," they'll say. "How about if I give you the idea, you write it, and then we split the money." According to author Bonnie Friedman, that's the problem many authors face--they think that the ideas are something special, that they need to be bigger. But writing is just words, and words are about things. Friedman says that if you get the details right, the ideas will come. You don't have to try to bury symbolism--symbols and meanings aren't buried. When you took that literature class (the good one), you didn't learn to dig out deep inner meanings, you learned to recognize the meanings in everyday things.
If you like that lesson, you'll like a lot of the ideas in Friedman's WRITING PAST DARK. In a series of connected essays on writing, Friedman deals with envy, with what she learned (and didn't learn) in the writing workshop at University of Iowa, with writers block and anorexia (for Friedman, the two are tightly linked), and with the need to be discovered. Friedman is right, I think, in warning us that being discovered isn't the goal. Being discovered won't make your writing any better, your insights any more penetrating, your gags funnier. The desire to be so perfect you will surely be discovered can weaken you, leave you writing vapid nothings--or nothing at all.
WRITING PAST DARK is a highly personal book. It doesn't try to teach the basis of writing (except that it's about peas). It doesn't give techniques for dealing with envy, writers block, rejection, and the other topics Friedman deals with. Instead, it's a highly readable account of how one woman has dealt with her envy, block, fear of rejection, and of some of the lessons she's learned and re-learned along the way.
Reading WRITING PAST DARK is like listening to a monologue by a person who's interesting but not, you think, a great deal like you. And then, all of a sudden, something hits and you realize that it is you after all. Because all writers deal with these things--we wouldn't be writers if we didn't think we had something we needed to say--and weren't simultaneously afraid it had been said already, and better than we ever could manage. If Friedman doesn't give us easy answers (and she doesn't), maybe it's because the answers aren't that easy.
Inspired by just her language.......2005-08-29
Friedman's writing made me drool. I was feeling writer's envy just reading her analogies and metaphors, then of course, she talks about writer's envy.
I got this book from a creative writing instructor, and I doubt that that instructor knows what a legacy she's given me. From distraction, to --oh my goodness--writing about what's true, I found Friedman's words jabbing me in the ribs the way my husband does when he's trying to tell me, "See, See? That's true, isn't it?"
Personally, I think that even if you don't get anything from the actual content of this book, you can get something from her style. Aside from her poetic language, she uses meaningful anectdotes that made my brain light up in agreement.
Sometimes it's just really spiffy to know that all these weird psycological turmoils we go through as writers, or wannabe writers (that's what I am), aren't so uncommon after all.
A Thoughtful Meditation on Writing.......2004-12-18
Through meticulous observations and analysis, Writing Past Dark illuminates issues on creativity that have generally been deemed murky and beyond explanation: envy, procrastination, writer's block, etc. But that luminosity comes with a price--Friedman's style can be a bit daunting. She has the sensitivity and precision of a poet, and reading her reminds me a bit of Annie Dillard (author of The Writing Life and Living by Fiction, also fine books on writing). Don't despair! Stick with Friedman and read the entire book and then re-read whatever you didn't get the first time. For me, each reading brought forth new insights, and that's how rich and suggestive it is.
Granted, Writing Past Dark is not as immediately engaging as some other books on writing like Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, nor is it in a recipe-mode: do 1-2-3 and you get a bestseller. To show the difference, let's take the topic of using real people/events as materials for fiction. Most writing books suggest writers make changes so the actual persons would not recognize themselves in the text. Choosing a different route, Friedman compares this moral dilemma with an ancient myth and analyzes that myth from all angles. She ends her discussion without choosing sides, and that's what sets this book apart from others. Friedman's intention is not to offer some pat, facile answers, but give writers the necessary tools to think about weighty issues and come to a conclusion they can live with. Becoming a writer won't be any easier for having read this book, but you'll be glad to have it as you trek the lonely and arduous path of creativity.
Books:
- The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on the Tree; The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; and Over Sea, Under Stone
- The Favored Child : A Novel
- The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, Book 5)
- The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, Book 2)
- The Journey of Adulthood, Fifth Edition
- The Journey of the Lost Boys: A Story of Courage, Faith and the Sheer Determination to Survive by a Group of Young Boys Called "The Lost Boys of Sudan"
- The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror
- The Masque of the Black Tulip
- The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel (New Destroyer)
- The Outlandish Companion
Books Index
Books Home
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- Behind the Tall Walls: From Palace to Prison
The Writer's Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication
Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain
Outwitting Writers' Block: And Other Problems of the Pen
