Thought Provoking Poets & Writers
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Writers Write About Writing
Writing for Your Life: Discovering the Story of Your Life's Journey, by
Deena Metzger.
Bring a pen and notebook. This is not light reading. The author of this book is a
writer and a therapist. Deena Metzger wields a powerful sword that can break
through writer's block and bring ideas to light. Writers on any level will find the
writing exercises beneficial in expanding the writer's breadth of writing capability.
An example of one writing exercise is when Deena Metzger asks the reader to
"tell your life story through your relationship to the four elements." The house that
I lived in as a child was a remodelled cottage on the lake. The four elements were
richly intertwined in my life; much different than the city life where I reside now. It
was an exercise in perspective.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott.
If there was a writer to chronicle the mistakes, feelings, success, pitfalls and the
challenges, Anne Lamott is one you would love to listen to. Anne has been on
NPR on numerous ocassions for the City Arts & Lectures series and on Fresh Air
with Terry Gross. Anne can laugh at herself. When writers take themselves too
seriously, Bird by Bird will help them to put it all into perspective.
Writing Down the Bones ; Wild Mind, both by Natalie Goldberg.
How would you like to break all of the rules? Flavored with Eastern philosophy,
these books tend to remove the shackles of should and shouldn't in order to free
the meat of writing.
Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Timesand
Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New
York Times (Writers on Writing (Times Books Paperback))
Both of these collections vary enough in style and taste to be useful for any writer.
Some of these essays can also be accessed on The New York Times website
under the books section.
Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury.
There are eleven essays in this book all centered around one theme: "writing is a
celebration, not a chore."
If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit, by
Brenda Ueland.
This book was first published in 1938, yet the perspective still rings true today. If
You Want to Write addresses the writing process and has a particularly great
chapter about rejection slips.
Deena Metzger.
Bring a pen and notebook. This is not light reading. The author of this book is a
writer and a therapist. Deena Metzger wields a powerful sword that can break
through writer's block and bring ideas to light. Writers on any level will find the
writing exercises beneficial in expanding the writer's breadth of writing capability.
An example of one writing exercise is when Deena Metzger asks the reader to
"tell your life story through your relationship to the four elements." The house that
I lived in as a child was a remodelled cottage on the lake. The four elements were
richly intertwined in my life; much different than the city life where I reside now. It
was an exercise in perspective.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott.
If there was a writer to chronicle the mistakes, feelings, success, pitfalls and the
challenges, Anne Lamott is one you would love to listen to. Anne has been on
NPR on numerous ocassions for the City Arts & Lectures series and on Fresh Air
with Terry Gross. Anne can laugh at herself. When writers take themselves too
seriously, Bird by Bird will help them to put it all into perspective.
Writing Down the Bones ; Wild Mind, both by Natalie Goldberg.
How would you like to break all of the rules? Flavored with Eastern philosophy,
these books tend to remove the shackles of should and shouldn't in order to free
the meat of writing.
Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Timesand
Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New
York Times (Writers on Writing (Times Books Paperback))
Both of these collections vary enough in style and taste to be useful for any writer.
Some of these essays can also be accessed on The New York Times website
under the books section.
Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury.
There are eleven essays in this book all centered around one theme: "writing is a
celebration, not a chore."
If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit, by
Brenda Ueland.
This book was first published in 1938, yet the perspective still rings true today. If
You Want to Write addresses the writing process and has a particularly great
chapter about rejection slips.
Writers Write About Writing
Walking on Alligators: A Book of Meditations for Writers, by Susan
Shaughnessy
Yes, there is even a book of daily mediations for writers.
A Walk Between Heaven and Earth: A Personal Journal on Writing and
the Creative Process, by Burghild Nina Holzer
This book is written as a personal journal that shares ideas with its readers.
Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters, by Annie Dillard
The practice of seeing, exploring and noticing is a mainstay of a writers diet. This
book is about "expeditions and encounters," each of which are described in
delicious detail.
The Fifth Book of Peace, by Maxine Hong Kingston
What would you do if your house burned to the ground with your manuscript in it?
What would you do if for 5 years you could not write?This is a powerful look of a
story that began one way was totally transformed by an act of nature.
Erica's Weekly Tips For Writers Erica Jong broke the mold for female writers.
Her website contains daily inspiration, a link of organizations that help writers, and
"Erica's 20 Rules for Writers"
Surviving a Writer's Life, by Suzanne Lipsett
If you don't have a personal mentor to whisper in your ear, then this book may
serve as a pretty decent substitute.
I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion, by
Dawna Markova
The title alone serves as a reminder for everyone to live purposely every day.
The perfect prescription for the rejection slip blues.
Wake Up Writing!
Provides daily exercises "to inspire your creative muse."
BahamasWriter
Online magazine with articles and writer's forums.
Shaughnessy
Yes, there is even a book of daily mediations for writers.
A Walk Between Heaven and Earth: A Personal Journal on Writing and
the Creative Process, by Burghild Nina Holzer
This book is written as a personal journal that shares ideas with its readers.
Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters, by Annie Dillard
The practice of seeing, exploring and noticing is a mainstay of a writers diet. This
book is about "expeditions and encounters," each of which are described in
delicious detail.
The Fifth Book of Peace, by Maxine Hong Kingston
What would you do if your house burned to the ground with your manuscript in it?
What would you do if for 5 years you could not write?This is a powerful look of a
story that began one way was totally transformed by an act of nature.
Erica's Weekly Tips For Writers Erica Jong broke the mold for female writers.
Her website contains daily inspiration, a link of organizations that help writers, and
"Erica's 20 Rules for Writers"
Surviving a Writer's Life, by Suzanne Lipsett
If you don't have a personal mentor to whisper in your ear, then this book may
serve as a pretty decent substitute.
I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion, by
Dawna Markova
The title alone serves as a reminder for everyone to live purposely every day.
The perfect prescription for the rejection slip blues.
Wake Up Writing!
Provides daily exercises "to inspire your creative muse."
BahamasWriter
Online magazine with articles and writer's forums.