Review by Booklist Review
The New Zealand writer offers beginners a sometimes nontraditional introduction to writing. Promising inspiration and techniques, she devotes the larger part of her attention to the former, not getting around to Writing Essentials character, plot, form, setting, and such until part four of her five-part book. The first three chapters are devoted to such matters as the seeds of inspiration, creative spaces, getting to know yourself ( If you were an object of clothing what would you be? ), and developing your senses. Some of this actually seems helpful in freeing young writers from preconceived notions and anxiety-induced stiffness. Some of it, however, seems designed only to test the reader's patience. To be fair, Lowry does offer some spot-on observations about the field today, plus practical advice that confirms her familiarity with her subject and helpful quotations from other writers (that confirm theirs). Alas, however, she never does explain what she means by juicy writing. --Cart, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"Writing is a bit like gardening," suggests New Zealand author Lowry (Things You Either Hate or Love), in this holistic handbook that has a touch of Zen. Thoughtful and affirmative reflections on the joys and challenges of the craft address topics like finding inspiration in the everyday, fundamentals of story and character, and healing through writing. Exercises such as "invent new meanings for common words," writing samples, and prompts encourage readers to put pen to page. It's a sensitive guide for writers just starting out, but frequent references to literary figures (for example, William Gass took photographs of seedy New York scenes to get in the mood) and gentle humor (why being a writer is good: "You get to act stranger than most people and it's considered okay, because you're a writer") should please more seasoned wordsmiths, too. Ages 14-up. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Lowry offers both inspiration and technical help in this upbeat guide for young writers. Strong on enthusiasm and Zen spirit, the manual lacks much in the way of literary models but offers many gimmicksinventing new religions, writing about a day in the life of a shoe and writing your life as a fairy tale. Chapter four is the strength of the guide, offering solid advice on such narrative elements as character, plot, form, point of view and dialogueand the ever-important, "Why you have to make your characters miserable." Readers will absorb a sense of what it means to be a writer, especially through such sections as "The best and worst things about being a writer." The final chapter leads readers to the Internet's wealth of resources for young writers, including blogs, author websites and organizations. Though the author doesn't do enough to exhort young writers to be readers, she offers a healthy sampling of writing ideas useful to motivated students and their teachers. (Nonfiction. 12 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
