I binge read a book about writing! Seriously, I did. Who does that? What could be more unexciting than the verbiage in a writing book, especially when a stack of highly recommended novels sit on my bedside table waiting to be read?
The book arrived on my doorstep after agreeing to write a review for an author I had not previously known. The title and sub-title intriqued me; TIME TO WRITE: Inspiring Lessons and Practical Skills for Writing The Novel You've Always Wanted, by Emily Winslow. My husband retrieved it when the mail came, opened the package and left it on the counter. Later that evening, I picked it up, just to get a feel for what I was up against and thumbed through it. My eyes lit on the first page of chapter one, and I was hooked.
Unlike most "how to" books that concentrate on the discipline of writing everyday and completeing X number of words per day, this author emphasized the importance of rest and daydreaming.
"This is because there are lots of steps to writing a book and writing is only one of them. Daydreaming, brainstorming, and what-iffing are parts of an essential foundation that count as a form of progress." A Time To Write, Chapter 1, Page 1.
The book is divided into eight parts: Getting Started, Writing Skills, Storytelling Skills, Technical Skills, Facing The Middle, Being Understood By Others, The Professional Life, and Your Future, with multiple chapters in each part. Intriqing chapter titles like Day Dreaming and Discipline, Grocery Bags and Maypoles, Wonder and Worry, and Tasting The Ginger, give you a flavor of her sense of humor and creative ways of sharing the information. Writing skills are masterfully separated from storytelling skills as are all skills, in short chapters using clear-cut examples and analogies. This is just a small part of what drew me into binging this book. Oh, and I might add, I highlighted something on almost every page!
You don't have to be writing a novel to learn from this book. There is something, many things, inside for every writer no matter where they/you are in their/your writing, publishing journey.
If you can only buy one book on writing, make it "TIME TO WRITE: Inspiring Lessons and Practical Skills for Writing the Novel You've Always Wanted, by Emily Winslow. Here is the link to Emily Winslow's website and books: bit.ly/48t8uqP
I'd love to hear from you if you find this book as useful as I did. Well, not just if you read the book. I'd love to hear from you anyway.
Happy Writing!
Sandra Warren is the author of books in several genres. https://www/sandrawarren.com https://www.arliebooks.com
Contact: Email: sandra@arliebooks.com
