Tania reviewed Write for Life by Julia Cameron
A few good ideas
3 stars
A bit too long and repetitive for the content but there were some good ideas and solid advice for novice writers and those with writer's block.
English language
Published Dec. 21, 2023 by St. Martin's Press.
A bit too long and repetitive for the content but there were some good ideas and solid advice for novice writers and those with writer's block.
Write for Life is ostensibly a six-week program to lift struggling writers out of any kind of difficulty they may be having with their writing. But really, it's a set of essays that are organized in chapters that loosely relate to the weekly lesson. The author, Julia Cameron, is perhaps best known for her earlier book, The Artist's Way (1992), where she introduces the concept of Morning Pages; a regularized free-writing exercise designed to clear a writer's mind and awaken the muse. Morning Pages are the backbone of this six-week program, together with artist dates (a writer's self-indulgent interlude to spark creativity), long walks, a trusted process, and the courage to write poorly but consistently for the sake of getting words on the page. Although some of the spiritual references can be a bit off-putting to some, if you can get past that, the book has some good--if not novel--writing …
Write for Life is ostensibly a six-week program to lift struggling writers out of any kind of difficulty they may be having with their writing. But really, it's a set of essays that are organized in chapters that loosely relate to the weekly lesson. The author, Julia Cameron, is perhaps best known for her earlier book, The Artist's Way (1992), where she introduces the concept of Morning Pages; a regularized free-writing exercise designed to clear a writer's mind and awaken the muse. Morning Pages are the backbone of this six-week program, together with artist dates (a writer's self-indulgent interlude to spark creativity), long walks, a trusted process, and the courage to write poorly but consistently for the sake of getting words on the page. Although some of the spiritual references can be a bit off-putting to some, if you can get past that, the book has some good--if not novel--writing advice. The basic take-home message for me was that creativity needs to be nurtured, but consistency in the act of writing gets the job done.